Pierre Gasly has admitted he is surprised by the significant performance drop experienced by Red Bull Racing during the opening phase of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The former Red Bull driver initially believed the Milton Keynes-based team would become one of the leading contenders after showing promising pace before the championship began.
Before the season started, Red Bull was widely expected to remain among Formula 1’s front-running teams despite entering a new era with its first in-house power unit project developed alongside Ford. However, after four completed rounds, the team has still failed to secure a podium finish.
Gasly believes Red Bull’s performance in Australia initially demonstrated strong potential to compete near the front. However, he admitted the team’s level unexpectedly declined after the opening races and became increasingly difficult to understand.
“After Bahrain I was convinced they would be part of the top-four battle. In Australia they looked very strong and started the season well. But after that, for some reason, things became much more difficult and it has been quite surprising,” Gasly said.
One of the major factors affecting Red Bull’s competitiveness is believed to be adaptation to Formula 1’s new 2026 technical regulations, particularly regarding power unit behaviour and energy management. Several drivers, including Max Verstappen, have already criticised the characteristics of the new regulations because of the heavy reliance on electrical energy deployment.
The upgrade package introduced by Red Bull at the Miami Grand Prix delivered some encouraging signs. Verstappen finished fifth, marking the team’s best result of the season so far. However, Red Bull’s overall performance still remains inconsistent and not yet strong enough to regularly challenge for podium positions.
Meanwhile, Verstappen’s team-mate Isack Hadjar has continued to struggle throughout the early stages of the campaign. The young driver crashed out early in Miami and has achieved only one top-10 finish from the opening four grands prix.
Despite the difficult period, Hadjar remains optimistic that Red Bull is beginning to move in the correct development direction. He believes the car now shows improved performance compared to the opening races, particularly during qualifying sessions which had previously been one of the team’s main weaknesses.
“Both the team and I made mistakes this weekend. But now we can see improvements in the car’s performance. It’s no longer such a struggle to reach Q3 like it was in the first few races. We need to focus on the positives and come back stronger in Canada,” Hadjar explained.
As Formula 1 enters a crucial development phase under the new regulations, Red Bull now faces growing pressure to quickly recover performance if it wants to avoid falling further behind in the 2026 world championship battle.
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