Red Bull Racing finds itself in an unfamiliar position. Fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship with 177 points is not where the team expects to be. On paper, this is shaping up to be the team’s worst season since 2015. There have been no victories, no pole positions, and no realistic shot at the title. Despite these struggles, there is a sense of resilience within the camp. The team entered the year acting as a de facto engine manufacturer for the first time. The start was slower than some midfield teams. By the midway mark, however, Red Bull has fought its way back into the mix with the front-runners.
The gap to Mercedes is significant—202 points behind. But the raw numbers hide a recent shift in form. Since the Monaco Grand Prix, Red Bull has scored only 40 fewer points than the championship leaders. This contrasts sharply with the first five events. In that opening stretch, which included three Sprint races, Red Bull scored 157 fewer points than Mercedes. The team did not even clear Haas and Alpine until the fourth round in Miami.
Closing the Gap
Laurent Mekies, now a year into his role as Team Principal, highlighted the progress made by the squad. “We don’t sign for anything other than winning races,” Mekies said. “But I have to take the opportunity to say well done to our people, on the chassis side, and the power unit side.”
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He pointed out the team reduced its performance deficit from 1.2 seconds to 0.3 seconds over the first half of the season. Mekies cited the late push last year and “PU adventures” as reasons for the slow start. He warned, however, that the rapid rate of chassis development in 2026 makes it hard to maintain that rhythm for the rest of the year.
The narrowing gap indicates the team has finally unlocked the potential of its new infrastructure. If Red Bull can continue this trajectory without hitting a development plateau, the second half of the season could yield the race wins that have eluded them so far. The real test will be whether the engineering gains can outpace the regulatory headwinds that are beginning to gather around the power unit division.
Power Unit Politics
The DM01 power unit, built from scratch by Red Bull Powertrains, has been a success story. There were glitches, particularly at the start of races, but the reliability and performance have been impressive. The FIA recognized this by deeming the DM01 the benchmark power unit under its ADUO system.