Red Bull 'not confident' of fixing Verstappen-flagged issue in 2027

Verstappen first aired his frustrations with a "degrading car" following his spin at Hungarian GP Qualifying, saying the RB22 was undriveable and that issues were "getting worse and worse."

Speaking after the Spanish GP, where the Dutchman secured an impressive P2 result for Red Bull, team principal Laurent Mekies acknowledged the RB22's puzzling problems, and explained that a fix for the current season was unlikely.

"Jokes aside, I don't think we are going to explain what it is and how we are going to fix it," Mekies said. "I think Max is right. There is an element of car performance degradation that is happening through a session as for a race. He's right in saying it is not a new issue. We are not sleeping on it."

Mekies added that while the Spanish GP was a step in the right direction, there is no guarantee Red Bull will be able to quickly find a solution, adding: "I trust that we are on the right way. It will not be fast. So it's something that probably will take us through next year."

Technical director Wache clearly agrees, explaining after Thursday's Free Practice action at the Azerbaijan GP that Red Bull will have to walk a tightrope as they deal with what he labels a "massive issue." Worryingly for Verstappen and Co., the Frenchman has said he is not even confident of a complete solution by the start of the 2027 campaign.

Wache said post-FP2 in Baku: "I'm not confident. Otherwise, I will stop working. You are never confident even more when when you have this type of issue. It's every time a compromise in our business, you know, and you try to maximise the overall car weight, overall performance of the aero package, and you don't want to to destroy everything also to have that.