Red Bull Stumbles at Start of Critical New Chapter, Smedley Says

Red Bull Racing began the 2026 season with the biggest challenge in their history: becoming their own power unit supplier for the first time. But early results show this bold move hasn't paid off yet.

Former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley didn't hold back in criticizing Red Bull's performance, calling it far below standard. On the High Performance Racing podcast, he said the Milton Keynes-based team keeps making basic errors.

"Red Bull should be doing so much better. They've had too many basic problems, like Max says, there's a different problem every weekend," Smedley said. This criticism comes as Max Verstappen continues to fight his car as much as his rivals.

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Despite Verstappen securing podiums, it has often required exceptional driving or rivals' mistakes. Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar shows steady progress, but the RB22 still lacks consistent competitiveness.

The combination of an unproven engine program and a car lacking reliability and pace has left Red Bull far from the front-running form that defined their recent dominance. The question now is whether these are growing pains or something more systemic.

With Smedley's sharp words and growing unease among observers, Red Bull must quickly regroup to challenge at the top. But the road ahead remains long and uncertain.