Verstappen unhappy with the RB22, but Red Bull sees clear progress

While Verstappen made his way to the podium for an unexpected second place, one of Red Bull Racing’s leading figures was candid behind the team’s garage: “I have no idea,” he said when asked by this website about the difference in performance from Saturday to Sunday. “We suspect tyre degradation made the difference today.”

In any case, Verstappen managed to drive to second place at the Hungaroring, but that didn’t mean the Dutchman was happy with his car’s performance. On the contrary, the four-time world champion was thoroughly annoyed during the race; there was so much to criticise, including the car’s balance.

After Verstappen voiced his frustration about his race in Hungary during the press conference, GPblog asked Mekies what exactly went wrong last weekend. “I don’t think we were ever able to give Max and Isack a car they could really push with,” the Red Bull Racing team boss explained. “If I think back to the drivers’ feedback in Spa or Austria, they would have said the car felt as it should. That was absolutely not the case this weekend.”

According to Mekies, the RB22 was better on Sunday than in the two days before. “Even today, I must admit the drivers didn’t have a good feeling with the car. On the other hand, it’s tough for everyone. Today Lando [Norris] was clearly faster than Max. Against everyone else we were on par and we beat them. That’s positive, because it means we have room to improve with this package.”

Red Bull Racing will temporarily close the factory doors in the coming days for the summer shutdown. However, there will be analysis on what caused the issues for Verstappen and Hadjar in Budapest. “We’ll try to figure out why we’re so on the edge in terms of balance—corner balance, the car’s performance, why it’s not delivering. It’s been hard work over the last races, especially for the drivers and the whole team, to get the car into the right window.”

The fact that Verstappen is still securing podiums sometimes masks how much better the car needs to be. “Because it’s Max, because it’s Isack, we’ve managed to deliver results anyway,” Mekies continued. “To return to your earlier point: I think it’s about the consistency of performance; that’s our main topic this season. There’s probably room for improvement there in the second half of the season.”

Mekies acknowledged that the RB22 has proven extremely sensitive to the slightest change in conditions. “A bit of damage, gravel, a kerb, or a different wind direction—it can put the performance under pressure. That not only costs you lap time but also reduces the drivers’ confidence.”

At the same time, the team boss sees an upward trend. “The package we brought here gave us a step forward. All the work [from the team] was impressive. I believe this was the first race in which we beat both Ferrari and Mercedes. Well done by McLaren—the speed they had today.”