Red Bull manager Laurent Mequise has admitted there were “serious flaws” in his team’s car at the Chinese Grand Prix.
After making a promising start to F1’s new rules era in pre-season testing ahead of its first season as an engine manufacturer, Red Bull faced reliability and pace issues with its RB21 car throughout the opening two race weekends.
Engine-related reliability issues stopped Australia’s Isaac Hajar and China’s Max Verstappen, but the latter’s sixth-place finish in the opening race was Red Bull’s best result to date. The team’s 12 points after two races of the season is its lowest return since 2015.
Mekies said after Sunday’s Shanghai race, where Verstappen retired while running sixth and Hajjar finished eighth after an early spin. “We knew that having our PU (power unit) on the Melbourne grid was a huge achievement in itself, but we would have been remiss not to have anticipated that we would run into reliability issues.”
“We had to retire Max (on Sunday) due to a coolant failure. But that wasn’t the only issue, as overall there were some significant shortcomings in our package in terms of performance.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.
“However, we have learned so much over the past few weeks that we expect to be even more competitive from the next round in Japan.”
Verstappen has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the 2026 F1 car in general, but admitted Red Bull’s Shanghai weekend was “particularly bad” after failing to score points in both the sprint and grand prix races.
Verstappen had poor starts from eighth on the grid in both races in Shanghai and was soon in doubt, but he also struggled with the RB21’s handling and tire deterioration throughout the weekend, describing it as “incredibly difficult to drive” and saying “every lap is a battle”.
He told Sky Sports F1: “It would have been helpful if I could start normally! I always end up falling to the end.
“The big problem for us is tire deterioration. We have a lot of tire deterioration, probably more than the people around us, so that’s one of the things we have to solve.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Max Verstappen believes Red Bull will not be able to compete with the top two teams after struggling with pace at the Australian Grand Prix.
“Then you solve the problem. But it’s not easy. You can see it all over the grid. Some cars can’t even start. It’s all very complicated.”
“The team is doing the best they can. They’re giving it their all. It’s tough because we know what they’re capable of, but we’re not where we want to be at the moment.
“We’ve had more problems than we expected, and balance-wise we’re not where we wanted to be. A lot has happened, but hopefully we can take a big step forward after Japan.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen crashed into the barrier during Q1 of the Australian Grand Prix.
Mekies said the five-week gap in the schedule after Suzuka following the cancellation of April’s Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs would give Red Bull vital extra time to get back to home and tackle their challenges.
“The unfortunate but unavoidable cancellation of racing in April will give us all a chance to catch our breath and work as hard as always in Milton Keynes,” he added.
“We have a great group of talented people on our campus, and I am confident that with your significant support we will be able to overcome our current limitations and rapidly improve our package.”
F1 will next head to the iconic Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix from March 27-29, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
