Red Bull have admitted they remain uncertain about whether they can completely solve one of Max Verstappen’s biggest complaints with the team’s current Formula 1 car, raising further questions over their prospects heading into the 2027 regulations.
Verstappen has repeatedly criticised the behaviour of his Red Bull, particularly its tendency to lose performance as a session or race progresses. The four-time world champion has described the issue as a “degrading car”, with the team acknowledging that the problem has been affecting its performance for some time.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies previously admitted that Verstappen’s concerns were legitimate, while technical director Pierre Wache has now provided another worrying assessment of the situation.
Speaking after Thursday’s practice sessions in Baku, Wache conceded that he could not guarantee the solutions being developed by Red Bull would completely resolve the problem before the start of next season.
“I’m not confident,” Wache admitted. “Otherwise, I will stop working. You are never confident even more when you have this type of issue.”
The Frenchman explained that solving the problem is complicated because Red Bull must balance several competing demands when developing its car.
“It’s every time a compromise in our business,” Wache said. “You try to maximise the overall car weight and the overall performance of the aero package, and you don’t want to destroy everything just to have that.”
Despite his concerns, Wache insisted that Red Bull are working aggressively to understand the issue, describing it as a “massive problem” for the team.
“But, you know, you are working on it, and we are trying to fix it because it’s a massive issue. But to be confident that it would be a full fix, I am not,” he added.
His comments echo remarks made by Mekies during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. The Red Bull boss acknowledged that the car’s performance degradation was a genuine weakness and insisted that the team was not ignoring Verstappen’s concerns.
“There is an element of car performance degradation that is happening through a session as for a race,” Mekies explained. “He’s right in saying it is not a new issue. We are not sleeping on it.”
Red Bull have already indicated that their Azerbaijan Grand Prix upgrade represents their final significant development package of the 2026 season. The team is now increasingly shifting its attention towards the major technical regulation changes arriving in 2027.
Although Red Bull are moving towards next year’s project earlier than some of their major competitors, Wache’s comments suggest there is still considerable uncertainty surrounding whether the team can fully understand and correct the weaknesses affecting Verstappen’s car.
The situation was also highlighted by Red Bull’s performance in Baku. Verstappen was the fastest driver outside Mercedes in both Thursday practice sessions, but the gap to the front remained significant.
Red Bull did, however, make progress in the constructors’ championship. McLaren remained third, but Red Bull reduced their deficit from 76 points to just 43, moving to 263 points compared with McLaren’s 306.
Mercedes lead the standings on 538 points, followed by Ferrari on 378, while Red Bull sit fourth ahead of Racing Bulls, Alpine and Haas.
With the focus now shifting rapidly towards 2027, Red Bull face an important challenge: finding a solution that not only improves Verstappen’s current car but also prevents the same performance problems from carrying into the next generation.
