Helmut Marko dismisses McLaren’s theory that Red Bull would sacrifice their 2026 car for the sake of the current title fight. In the run-up to the Mexico City GP, the Austrian revealed that the team still had an upgrade in store for the RB21, while most teams are already heavily focused on next year’s regulations. Red Bull indeed introduced a new floor in Mexico, but this would not affect the developments for 2026.
Max Verstappen has won three Grand Prix in recent weeks, reducing the gap to Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to forty and twenty-six World Championship points respectively. To increase his chances of winning the title, Red Bull introduced a number of upgrades in Mexico, including a brand new floor for the RB21. McLaren team boss Andrea Stella suggested that Red Bull is sacrificing the developments for 2026 to help Verstappen to a fifth title, but Helmut Marko refuted this.
‘We Know What We’re Doing’
“Perhaps Red Bull will be happier by giving up a bit of development for 2026, as they may encounter other problems,” speculated Stella. “This might make them dare to say: ‘Let’s just focus on 2025.'” Marko laughed off these comments and emphasized that Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff made similar statements in 2021. “It was the same story then,” said the Red Bull senior advisor to Autosport. “Toto (Wolff) was really afraid that we would not be competitive in 2022.”
The opposite turned out to be true. After the title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, Red Bull took both championships in 2022 – with the introduction of the new regulations. “It is part of our philosophy that we continue to work on a competitive package as long as possible, even when the rules change,” Marko explained. “This was also the case with the last major technical changes. We know what we’re doing. It requires a precise plan and very disciplined people to implement upgrades now, and we have them on board. So no, we don’t think this will hinder us in 2026.”
According to Marko, the upgrades in Mexico City are primarily aimed at improving cooling. Because the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is more than two kilometers above sea level, the circuit demands a lot from a Formula 1 car. “The upgrade was mainly focused on the efficiency of cooling – because of the thinner air here,” Marko explained.
