F1 2026: Red Bull Slow-Cooked Into Becoming Relevant Again

Just when you thought they're about to have a down year, Red Bull comes back and reminds you who they are.

After a poor start to the 2026 Formula 1 season, Red Bull has won the last two races in Malaysia and Singapore. Max Verstappen and his car are in peak form, which is always a scary sight for the other drivers. His teammate, Isack Hadjar, is also consistently scoring good points. If not for the Frenchman's car reliability issues in Singapore, he would've continued his impressive streak of nine races with at least P6 finishes. 

Now, their rivals are acknowledging Red Bull's much-improved one-lap and race trim pace. Mercedes driver George Russell said that Red Bull is now the "team to beat." Russell explained his statement, saying that Red Bull has been very good in the Asian triple-header, where the three circuits are different from each other.

Red Bull team principal, Laurent Mekies, didn't exactly acknowledge that they've become the team to beat. But the French engineer did say that they finally had the "ultimate pace" for the first time this season.

Having said that, when did Red Bull start to turn their season around?

Red Bull had mixed results in the first seven races of the season. In fact, after the first three races, Red Bull sat sixth in the Teams' Standings, behind Haas and Alpine.

But they started having sustained success in their home race at Spielberg. They unleashed a significant upgrade package that included seven updates to the "floor, rear suspension, rear corner, rear wing, and exhaust."

The upgrades definitely worked, with Verstappen finishing the race in P2, his best result, and interestingly, only his second podium appearance of the season. Moreover, the Dutchman split the two Mercedes cars and was only +1.611 seconds behind Russell in front.

Hadjar finished sixth, ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen's P2 in the Red Bull ring served as the springboard for his streak of eight straight podiums (not counting the two DNFs in Silverstone and Zandvoort).

When Mekies said that they're focusing on 2027 after their major upgrades in Baku, we thought they're already waving the white flag. Little did we know that it's a calculated gamble. 

Verstappen came very close to winning in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, finishing just +0.196 seconds behind Russell. Hadjar also stepped on the podium with his P3 finish.

Then, the team finally broke through with a win in the tricky conditions of Sepang, before following it up with Verstappen's first career victory in Singapore. 

Now, the grid prepares for the upcoming United States Grand Prix, where Verstappen won four of the last five races. 

There's just no denying it. Three different circuits in the last three races. And three almost equally good results.

Early on, both Red Bull drivers voiced concerns about the RB22's balance, handling, and power unit reliability. But Verstappen and Hadjar reported good feedback after the Baku upgrades, with the former saying that he's happy about the package.

A happy Max? Definitely, Red Bull is the team to beat right now.