Red Bull's Austria upgrade: what are they bringing and why is not enough

Red Bull’s Austria package faces a clear reality check

Red Bull is preparing a major upgrade for Austria, but team principal Laurent Mekies has warned that the package cannot be treated as a silver bullet in the fight with Mercedes and Ferrari.

The 2026 regulations have made development momentum central to the competitive order, with teams appearing able to make significant gains when new parts arrive. Ferrari demonstrated that in Barcelona, where its upgrade helped unlock a step forward that Lewis Hamilton converted into victory. For more on that breakthrough, see our analysis of Ferrari’s Barcelona upgrade and Hamilton’s win.

Mekies sees the same pattern defining the season, but insists Red Bull’s next step must be judged only by what it delivers on the stopwatch.

“The picture of the season is these performance variations based on who is bringing his upgrade,” Mekies said. “Ferrari made a big step forward. Obviously, our next big one is in Austria. But, you know, it’s only as good as the real lap time on track it brings. Everyone in Milton Keynes has been working very hard for that package.”

Closing the gap remains a multi-stage task

The Austrian update will be Red Bull’s second major development push of the year. Its Miami package included a full redesign of the RB22 sidepods and Red Bull’s own version of a rotary rear wing concept similar to Ferrari’s, which Fred Vasseur labelled the “Macarena”.

Red Bull has not detailed which areas will change this time. But Mekies was unequivocal that the upgrade alone will not be enough to put the team into genuine victory contention against Mercedes and Ferrari.

“There is no doubt that the Austrian package alone will not be enough,” he said. “We know we’ll have some further steps needed.”

Mekies estimates Red Bull still needs to find around four tenths per lap relative to its rivals, although he said after Miami that the first upgrade had halved the gap to the front.

One possible gain in Austria is weight reduction. Red Bull is still understood to be above the minimum weight, while technical director Pierre Wache previously said the plan was to reach the 768kg limit with the Austrian package. Asked after Barcelona whether that target remained on course, Mekies joked: “Eat less. That’s my plan for Austria!”

Barcelona underlined Red Bull’s limitations

Barcelona exposed weaknesses in the RB22. Max Verstappen finished fourth, nearly 20 seconds behind Lando Norris, while Isack Hadjar recovered to sixth after losing ground at the start. Red Bull remained clear of the chasing pack, but lacked the pace of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.

Mekies accepted the result as a useful benchmark, noting that Red Bull could fight for podiums in Canada and Monaco but not in Spain. He called Barcelona a “reality check” on a layout featuring a long straight plus medium- and high-speed corners.

The message is blunt: Red Bull is improving, but the deficit is now spread across multiple areas. As Mekies put it, the answer is no longer one single fix, but finding performance in mid-speed corners, high-speed corners and straight-line speed.