Red Bull faces complex moment at the 2026 Austrian GP, with weakest performance at home since 2015
For the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing finds itself in a performance situation far below its record in Formula 1. The team occupies fourth position in the Constructors’ World Championship, with a total of 89 accumulated points. This is the team’s lowest performance on its home circuit since the 2015 season, in a year where Mercedes displays great superiority and Ferrari concentrates much of the spotlight.
The Spielberg Autodrome, known worldwide as the Red Bull Ring and the stage for this crucial stage, is owned by the team itself. In 2004, businessman Dietrich Mateschitz, creator of the energy drink, purchased the then inactive A1 Ring. This strategic acquisition occurred in conjunction with the purchase of the Jaguar team, which would later become Red Bull Racing, highlighting an ambitious vision for motor sport.
After extensive renovations, the Spielberg Circuit was reopened in 2011. Formula 1 only returned to host the Austrian Grand Prix at the track three years later, in 2014. Since then, Red Bull has given great visibility to the race, treating it as one of its most important events, where its main driver, Max Verstappen, holds the record of four victories, achieved in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023.
During the era of hybrid engines in Formula 1, Red Bull usually arrived in the Austrian Alps in a prominent position in the general classification. With the exception of the 2015 season, the team had always arrived in Styria, the location of the circuit, with at least 137 points in the Constructors’ Championship, demonstrating a regularity that is not observed today.
2015 presented enormous difficulties for drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat. The problems were attributed to constant failures in the Renault engine and the inherent deficiencies in the team’s car chassis. On that occasion, it was the first time since 2008 that Red Bull had failed to achieve any victory in Formula 1. When the championship arrived in Spielberg, the team had just 54 points, occupying fourth place in the Constructors’ World Championship. In the race, won by Nico Rosberg, Ricciardo finished tenth and Kvyat 12th, reflecting the serious challenges with the engine.
After the difficult phase, the team recovered and established itself as the third force in the championship, often arriving at the Red Bull Ring in a comfortable position. In 2020, the Spielberg circuit hosted the season opener under unusual circumstances, due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the period between 2021 and 2024 was very successful for Red Bull in Austria: the team was leading the championship and, in 2024, had scored 330 points, a figure that is almost four times greater than the team’s current 89 points in 2026, representing a sharp drop of more than 70% in points.
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The 2025 season already indicated a change in the outlook for the Austrian team. Having been overtaken by McLaren in Formula 1 since the previous year, Red Bull, even with a higher score than today, reached Spielberg occupying fourth place in the Constructors’ World Championship. The situation worsened when Max Verstappen was forced to leave the race following an incident at the start with Kimi Antonelli.
During that period, what happened in 2025 generated speculation about a contract clause for Max Verstappen that would allow him to go to Mercedes. The deal would supposedly release the driver if Red Bull was not in the top three in the championship at the end of the first half of the year. However, the four-time world champion decided to remain in the team, reaffirming his confidence in the Red Bull project.
Although an initial assessment may indicate few distinctions between the 2025 scenarios and the present, the numbers show a significant discrepancy. At the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, the tenth stage of the season, Red Bull boasted an average of 16.2 points per race. Now, in 2026, after seven rounds, this average has plummeted to 12.7 points per race, a drop of 3.5 points per race, signaling a constant deterioration in performance. Additionally, in 2025, the team already had two victories and three podiums before the Austrian stage. In contrast, so far in 2026, the team has no victories and only one podium, achieved by Max Verstappen with a third place in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Isack Hadjar, the team’s new driver, had his final position in the race changed to fourth place. This change came after the race stewards decided to overturn a previous penalty, resulting in Pierre Gasly’s podium being handed over to the French Red Bull driver.
Is there any hope of recovery for the team? One of the biggest challenges that Red Bull has encountered with its 2026 car, the RB22 model, is overweight. It is estimated that the vehicle is around six to seven kilos above the ideal weight, which generates a notable loss of 0.2 seconds per lap for Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar. The additional weight also worsens the instability of the rear of the car, making driving more difficult.
Although it has not revealed detailed information about future upgrades, Red Bull is focusing its efforts on reducing the RB22’s excessive weight for this weekend’s Grand Prix in Spielberg. Laurent Mekies, team boss, made a good-natured comment after the Barcelona GP about the weight loss strategy: “Eat less. That’s my plan for Austria! I hope we stay lighter there. Austrian food is good, I know. But the plan is to make the car ‘eat’ a little less there and go on a kind of diet”, demonstrating the great pressure for good results in his country.
