Red Bull Racing sits sixth in the constructors' championship with 16 points after three race weekends as its first works-built engine project is off the pace under the new regulations.
The team averages 0.97 seconds slower in qualifying and about 1.26 seconds per lap behind Mercedes in race trim, placing the RB22 in the midfield alongside Alpine and Haas and some 0.4 seconds adrift of McLaren.
Performance data from Australia, China and Japan show competitive top speed—often above Ferrari—but time loss occurs mainly in corners, notably the second sector in China and the high-speed Esses in Japan; Racing Bulls, using the same engine, records different lap-time characteristics.
Red Bull was also slower through the early hybrid era in 2014–15, trailing Mercedes by about 0.83 to 1.18 seconds and only returned to front-running form by 2019; the 2026 change is less radical and Red Bull now controls its power unit through Red Bull Powertrains.
This report is based on information originally published by Motorsport.
Read the full article at Motorsport.
More automotive news: Latest car news