Mekies: Red Bull’s Sepang gains went beyond the Baku upgrade

Max Verstappen’s first win of the 2026 season at Sepang was more dominant than Jolyon Palmer expected. The former F1 driver said Verstappen topped every part of qualifying and set two laps good enough for pole. Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says the progress behind that pace came from a broader effort than the Baku upgrade alone.

Mekies estimates Red Bull began the season about a second off the pace and at one point feared it would remain three tenths behind. He credits work on both chassis and power unit with closing that gap; the Baku upgrade contributed, but was one part of the team’s wider effort.

The development reached back before Baku. Technical expert Paolo Filisetti says revisions to the sidepods’ upper profile and undercut let Red Bull use a different aerodynamic map from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards. He describes the RB22 as more precise and responsive.

About ten days before Sepang, Red Bull introduced a Baku package it described as its final major upgrade of the year: a new floor body and diffuser, sidepods, cooling louvres, mirrors and a halo fairing. Filisetti says Sepang’s long straights, final hairpin and medium- and high-speed corners offered an ideal opportunity to show the gains, while power-unit demands there proved less severe than expected.

RacingNews365’s race analysis also credited Red Bull’s intermediate-tyre choice and its three clean pit stops. Mekies said Sepang’s extreme heat, rough asphalt and layout probably put most cars outside their ideal operating windows and may have affected the competitive order.

Mekies expects Singapore’s slow corners to suit Red Bull, but says rivals’ form is difficult to assess. He expects the team to contend for podiums in the coming races, while saying it is impossible to know whether Red Bull can fight for wins at every circuit; Mercedes, he notes, has consistently been in that contest.

The Singapore Grand Prix is next on October 11. Marina Bay’s very different layout will be the next test of whether the RB22 can carry its gains across circuit types.