Red Bull in the abyss
In the last two years, Red Bull has faced periods of technical and managerial crisis. The Milton Keynes team has been excellent at isolating track work from external turbulence, managing to win the 2024 World Championship and contend for the 2025 title until the last corner against a clearly superior McLaren, thanks also to the qualities of Max Verstappen.
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At the start of 2026, not even the Dutch champion has been able to pull Red Bull out of the quicksand: the RB22 has evident problems in what was once its strong point – the chassis – and the team has been forced to reorganize the technical department, promoting Ben Waterhouse. For Ralf Schumacher, very little can be saved in Milton Keynes, which would need a clean-up, starting with team principal Laurent Mekies.
Schumacher’s words
“I like Laurent, but that’s not his role. He knows how to recruit the best people to work with,” this was Schumacher’s comment on the podcast Backstage Boxengasse. “Now everything is really in turmoil for him. The car is a disaster, it’s heavy and nervous, not even Max can handle it. It should be completely redesigned.”
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Schumacher then attacked technical director Pierre Waché again after the 2025 criticism: “An important update is coming, but everyone is holding their breath, they are losing ground. To be honest, I’m not optimistic, because I believe Waché cannot harmonize technology with the driver.”
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