Few teams have won as much in such a short time. Red Bull took four constructors’ titles in a row with Sebastian Vettel from 2010 to 2013, then dominated again with Verstappen, who won four straight drivers’ titles from 2021 to 2024. Our ranking of the most successful F1 teams of all time puts that record in context.

2025 marked the end of that era. Verstappen fought back in the second half of the season but lost the title to Lando Norris by two points at the final race, and the team finished behind McLaren and Mercedes in the constructors’ table. With new engine rules arriving for 2026, Red Bull chose to stop using Honda power and build its own.

Max Verstappen

The four-time world champion is in his 12th season in F1 and his 11th at Red Bull. Our profile of when Verstappen joined F1 covers how it started. 2026 has been his toughest season since his early years: no wins in the first 15 rounds and no poles until Sepang. He then won there from pole, his second Sepang win after 2017, and is sixth in the championship with 188 points, level with Lando Norris.

His future was the big question of the summer. After failing to finish in the top two of the standings by the summer break, he could have used an exit clause in his contract, and he was linked with Mercedes and McLaren. Instead, in August he committed to Red Bull until the end of 2030. For the background to that decision, see our earlier reports on the Verstappen exit rumours and the timeline for his decision.

Isack Hadjar

Hadjar, 21, replaced Yuki Tsunoda after a strong rookie season with Racing Bulls in 2025, which included a podium at Zandvoort. In his first year as Verstappen’s team-mate, he has scored consistently and taken his first Red Bull podium at Monaco. By mid-season Verstappen led him 8–3 in qualifying, a far closer fight than any recent Red Bull team-mate managed.

His season was interrupted in August, when he injured his wrist while boxing during the summer break. He missed three races, the Dutch, Italian and Spanish (Madrid) Grands Prix, with Liam Lawson stepping up from Racing Bulls. Hadjar returned in Baku and finished third. Red Bull confirmed in September that he’ll stay alongside Verstappen in 2027. “He has been superb on and off track, especially considering this is only his second Formula 1 season,” Mekies said.

The RB22 was unveiled in Detroit on 15 January 2026, a nod to Ford’s role in the engine project. It’s Red Bull’s first car under the 2026 regulations, which brought smaller, lighter cars, active aerodynamics and a power unit that gets roughly half its power from electricity.

Red Bull Ford Powertrains has been widely praised for its combustion engine, often rated the strongest on the grid. Where it has fallen short is the electrical side. In 2026 the battery and the electric motor matter far more than before, and Mercedes has had the better overall package. Our explainer on 2026 active aero and hybrid power explains why energy management decides so much this year.

The chassis has had its own problems. Red Bull’s moving rear wing, part of the active aero system, caused serious issues: Verstappen crashed in qualifying in Austria and again at the British Grand Prix, and the team reverted to an earlier design at Spa. Reliability and inconsistent balance from one circuit to the next have also cost points. Since the summer break, though, the car has looked much more competitive, with a double podium in Baku and pole in Malaysia.

Constructors’ standings after Sepang

The team’s total includes points scored by Lawson during Hadjar’s absence. Updated tables after every race are on our F1 standings page, our Bahrain GP at Sepang report covers the first win in full, and our Azerbaijan Grand Prix report covers the Baku double podium.

More wins. The first one is done. Verstappen said before the race that Red Bull was “here to win, not here to just grab podiums”, and he delivered. The question now is whether Sepang was a one-off, helped by rain and strategy, or the start of a run. Singapore, a track where Red Bull has been strong in the past, is next.

Third in the constructors’ championship. Red Bull cut the gap to McLaren from 43 to 18 points at Sepang, with seven rounds left. With both Red Bulls scoring regularly, third is now a realistic goal. Ferrari, 107 points ahead, is probably out of reach.

Playing spoiler in the title fight. Red Bull can’t win either championship in 2026, but it can affect who does. Every race Verstappen wins or finishes ahead of the Mercedes cars takes points away from Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. Our analysis of how Antonelli can clinch the title covers the maths.

Building for 2027. With an unchanged driver line-up, Verstappen tied in until 2030 and a new wind tunnel under construction in Milton Keynes, Red Bull is in a more stable position than it was a year ago. The question is how quickly the engine side can close the gap on Mercedes in energy recovery. Our guide to F1’s 2027 regulation changes covers what’s next.

Red Bull’s leadership

Mekies, a former FIA, Ferrari and Racing Bulls engineer, took over when Horner was removed in July 2025 after two decades in charge. Long-time adviser Helmut Marko has also left, and the wider Red Bull company now has closer oversight of the team. On the racing side, Mekies is the boss. The sister team, Racing Bulls, continues to serve as the junior team: Lawson and Arvid Lindblad drive there in 2026, and Hadjar is the latest graduate from it.