Mekies insists Red Bull can fix Verstappen's kerb and bump issues this season

An Achilles' Heel That Refuses to Go Away

Despite the wholesale technical reset brought by the all-new 2026 regulations, one stubborn weakness continues to shadow Red Bull: the inability to handle bumps and kerbs with the same confidence as their rivals. Max Verstappen raised the issue candidly during the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix weekend, and the team's pain is set to be amplified even further at Monaco.

At Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, kerb-riding was already a critical factor — particularly through qualifying — but the streets of Monaco represent an entirely different challenge. When the Monaco race weekend was mentioned, Verstappen's response was disarmingly self-aware:

It was a joke, but the underlying concern is real. Verstappen claimed Red Bull's first podium of the season in Montreal, but the car's ride sensitivity remains a clear limitation that will need to be managed carefully at the world's most demanding street circuit.

Can the Problem Be Solved in 2026?

What makes the situation particularly striking is that these ride issues are not new. During the ground-effect era, the problem was especially acute because cars were required to run at ultra-low ride heights with extreme stiffness. The current regulations rely less heavily on ride height, yet the weakness has persisted — something that even Verstappen finds surprising.

"If only we knew exactly what was causing it. I do have some ideas, and that's what we're going to work on now," he said.

The obvious question hanging over the paddock is whether the issue is so deeply tied to the fundamental philosophy of the RB22 that a fix cannot realistically arrive before the 2027 car. Team principal Laurent Mekies was unequivocal in his response: "There is nothing yet that we are seeing that cannot be fixed in 2026."

But Mekies was equally clear that the solution must be the right kind of fix. Red Bull has no interest in patching the ride comfort problem if it means surrendering lap time in the process.

"The guys are doing all the analysis in the world back at the factory to try to come up with a solution that not only fixes the issues, but fixes the issues by bringing lap time," Mekies explained. "Because it will probably be quite easy to fix the issues, but make the car slower. So you want to fix the issues and bring lap time. It's a complex issue."

The stakes are significant. Later in the calendar, circuits such as Baku, Singapore and Las Vegas — all known for their demanding surfaces and aggressive kerbing — will test Red Bull's ability to manage this weakness. Mekies nonetheless expressed confidence that progress is within reach.

"We love complex issues. We have plenty of them and I have every confidence that in the same way that we have cracked quite fundamental issues since the beginning of the season, we will be managing to do a few more."

For a team under pressure to close the gap to the front, solving the ride issue without compromising overall performance is perhaps the most nuanced engineering challenge Red Bull face this season. It is telling that Mekies has simultaneously been vocal about broader ambitions for the team, underscoring just how much is riding on getting the RB22's fundamentals right in the months ahead.