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Max Verstappen knew something was wrong with the RB22 from the very first lap of the season. Red Bull have now formally acknowledged that it took them too long to find the root cause, and technical director Pierre Waché is not hiding from that admission.
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Waché was candid speaking to Autosport. "We first had to confirm that something was actually wrong, and then figure out exactly where it was coming from." The steering issues Verstappen reported immediately in testing and across the opening races were real, and the fact that they persisted for as long as they did reflects how difficult the diagnosis was in a completely new car architecture.
"We regret that we were not able to solve the problem more quickly," Waché said. The fact that Verstappen felt it on the very first lap of his 2026 campaign makes that timeline even more uncomfortable.
The Macarena Wing and What Is Coming
Waché also disclosed details about a development project that has been running since November: a new front wing concept internally called the Macarena wing. "We have been working on it since November, but we had difficulty getting it to work properly." The development of a new aerodynamic element across several months without being able to make it perform as expected is the kind of detail that illuminates why Red Bull have been struggling to find their 2026 footing.
There is positive news on the weight front. The RB22 has been described in paddock reports as heavier than optimal, and Waché confirmed that a reduction is coming. "In Austria we will definitely be able to remove some weight from the car." Weight affects everything from tyre loading to energy management and corner speed, so even a modest reduction could produce visible lap time gains.
Miami Gave Them Something to Build On
The updates that arrived in Miami appeared to work. Verstappen qualifying second was the clearest evidence of that. Fifth in the race was a result shaped by the spin at the start, not by a lack of pace. For the first time in 2026, Red Bull left a race weekend believing they had taken a genuine step forward.
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