Max Verstappen’s hopes of returning to the front of Formula 1 have suffered another setback after Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache admitted the team is still far from confident that it can completely solve one of its biggest problems.
Red Bull has struggled for consistency throughout the 2026 season, with Verstappen repeatedly expressing frustration over a car that appears to lose performance as sessions and races progress. The four-time world champion has described the problem as a “degrading car”, highlighting an issue that has become increasingly difficult for the team to overcome.
The concerns were acknowledged by team principal Laurent Mekies during the previous race weekend in Madrid. However, Wache’s comments in Baku have provided an even clearer indication of just how serious the situation remains inside the Red Bull camp.
Verstappen was the fastest driver outside the Mercedes team in both Thursday practice sessions at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. While that offered some encouragement, Red Bull’s technical leadership remains cautious about its prospects of turning that pace into a consistent race-winning package.
Speaking after practice in Baku, Wache admitted that he could not guarantee the solutions being developed by Red Bull would completely resolve the problem before the beginning of next season.
“I’m not confident,” Wache said when asked whether the team could deliver a complete solution. “Otherwise, I will stop working. You are never confident even more when you have this type of issue.”
His comments underline the scale of the challenge facing Red Bull as the team prepares for the final stages of the 2026 campaign and looks increasingly toward the major technical regulations coming in 2027.
Mekies has already confirmed that Red Bull’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix upgrade will be the team’s final significant development package of the season. From this point forward, the focus will increasingly shift toward preparing for 2027 rather than continuing to introduce major upgrades to the current car.
Red Bull’s decision to prioritize next year’s project relatively early could prove important, particularly given the difficulties the team has experienced with its current machinery. However, Wache made it clear that there is still considerable uncertainty surrounding whether the underlying problem can be fully addressed.
The Frenchman explained that fixing the issue requires the team to balance several competing factors, including the overall weight of the car and the aerodynamic performance of the package.
“It’s every time a compromise in our business,” Wache explained. “You try to maximise the overall car weight, overall performance of the aero package, and you don’t want to destroy everything also to have that.”
Despite the uncertainty, Red Bull continues to work on the problem, with Wache describing it as a “massive issue” that the team is determined to resolve.
“But, you know, you are working on it, and we are trying to fix it because it’s a massive issue,” he added. “But to be confident that it would be a full fix, I am not.”
For Verstappen, the situation represents another frustrating chapter in a season where Red Bull has struggled to consistently provide him with a car capable of challenging at the front.
With the team now turning its attention toward 2027, Verstappen’s chances of securing further victories this season could depend heavily on how much performance Red Bull can extract from its existing package.
