Van der Hulst sees Red Bull building towards a 2027 title challenge

Max Verstappen has won three of his last four races, and Pepijn van der Hulst of RacingNews365 sees that run as a sign that Red Bull is building towards title-contending form for 2027. At the start of 2026, Verstappen was fighting in the midfield; Van der Hulst says the team has since found a good operating window for its car and engine.

Van der Hulst says Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes were too strong in 2026, with Mercedes dominating until the summer. He writes that other top teams then closed the gap and Ferrari entered the fight for wins more often. He also notes that earlier in 2026 not everything went well: when the balance was not optimal, Red Bull sometimes gambled strategically to chase the best result, and those gambles did not always work.

Mexico is his clearest example of execution making up for a lack of outright pace. Red Bull took advantage of Charles Leclerc’s penalty by bringing Verstappen in at the same time; the Dutchman took first place from Leclerc. Van der Hulst says Verstappen was not the fastest and, in principle, still had to make the soft tyres last; track position helped him win.

Van der Hulst sees progress in Red Bull’s operation too: he says the strategic team is on top of its work, the balance is usually much better from Friday, and engineers resolve small problems quickly. He also notes that Verstappen has spoken positively about working with Tom Hart, whom Van der Hulst calls the driver’s future right-hand man. That combination is the basis for his optimism about 2027, even when Red Bull is not the fastest.