Red Bull pulls the plug on RB22 upgrades as 2027 beckons

Red Bull has rediscovered its winning touch, but Laurent Mekies has made it clear that the team will not be throwing any more major upgrades at its RB22 this season, with the future now taking priority over further development of its current challenger.

Max Verstappen’s victories in Malaysia and Singapore have vindicated the Milton Keynes outfit’s determination to turn around its fortunes after a difficult start to the campaign.

Yet, with the RB22 now capable of fighting at the front, Red Bull has decided that its most valuable gains may come from what it learns rather than what it adds to the car.

Mekies, whose contract with Red Bull has recently been extended until 2031, insists that the decision to halt substantial upgrades should not be mistaken for a team easing off the throttle.

Instead, the remaining races will serve as an opportunity to extract every last ounce of performance while gathering knowledge that could prove decisive in 2027.

Speaking to reporters in Singapore, the Frenchman outlined the team's development strategy.

"So there will be no other substantial upgrades to the car," Mekies confirmed.

"Now, don't get me wrong; it does not mean that we will not continue to push very hard to improve. Continue to push very hard to use every remaining race to learn for this year and to learn for next year.

"That's what we had said to each other: 'The first win is the target, but the other target is to take all the learning.

"So the development programme will not change. We have put our focus on '27. We think there is still a huge amount of learning in '26 that we could use in '27."

Singapore success does not end the search for gains

Red Bull's decision comes on the back of a remarkable turnaround, with Verstappen sweeping pole position and victory at the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend.

The Dutchman delivered a commanding performance on a circuit that had previously presented the team with considerable challenges, underlining the progress made with the RB22.

The result also provided a timely reward for the engineers responsible for transforming the car into a consistent contender. Mekies was keen to acknowledge the work carried out by Red Bull's technical departments, singling out chassis chief Pierre Waché and Ben Hodgkinson, who leads the team's power unit operation, for their contributions.

"I'd like to take the time to say a huge congrats to Pierre's [Waché] team, to Ben's [Hodgkinson] team, for the 360-degree work they have done in order to be in that position to fight for wins on different tracks," Mekies added.

• Read also: Red Bull locks in Mekies until 2031 as new era takes shape

The progress is particularly significant given Red Bull's need to extract performance from both its chassis and its new Red Bull-Ford power unit package.

Winning on different types of circuits suggests the team has made meaningful strides across the board, rather than simply stumbled upon a setup that works at a particular venue.

Nevertheless, Mekies is not prepared to declare the job finished, even after a weekend in which his team claimed every major prize available.

No room for complacency at Milton Keynes

Indeed, the Red Bull team principal believes that the willingness to scrutinise its own shortcomings, even in moments of triumph, remains central to the outfit's competitive philosophy.

"As I said, even on a weekend where you take two poles and two wins like [in Singapore], we are still very honest with each other about the fact that there were still a number of things we would like to see done better, even on a weekend like this.

"And that's the spirit of this team, and it's with that spirit that we will go on and reset and tackle the next races."

The message from Mekies is therefore twofold: Red Bull believes it has achieved the immediate objective of returning to the top step of the podium, but it has no intention of treating its recent success as a reason to stand still.

The RB22's development may have reached its final major upgrade milestone, but Red Bull's pursuit of performance is far from over.

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