Max Verstappen has pushed back against the idea that Red Bull's poor start to the current season is because the team kept working on last year's car.

What people are saying

Last season many teams stopped developing their older cars early to focus on major rule changes and the 2026 regulations. Red Bull took a different path and kept upgrading the RB21 late into the year. That strategy helped Verstappen stay in the title fight, and he went on to win six of the 10 races after the summer break, narrowly losing the championship by two points.

Why some think that hurt them now

The suggestion from critics is simple: by continuing to develop the RB21, Red Bull may have fallen behind on preparations for this year, especially because the team is producing its own power unit for the first time.

The early-season reality

The start of the season has been rough. Red Bull and Verstappen managed just 12 points across the first two grands prix in Australia and China, and the team sits fifth in the constructors' standings after running into problems with the new power unit.

Verstappen's response

When asked if last year's development work was to blame, Verstappen replied: "No, because then you can say the same from '21 to '22, and we were definitely very quick in '22." He pointed out that Red Bull also developed the 2021 car late into that season, yet still arrived at 2022 in strong form and secured the title.

So what does Verstappen think now?

He is not making excuses. Verstappen acknowledged that the team is not in the same stable position it enjoyed in recent years and that there is room for improvement while they work to sort the new power unit.

"The last few years, we were in a much better stable position than we are now," he said. "There's a lot of stuff that we need to do better at the moment."

Bottom line

  • Verstappen rejects the idea that last season's RB21 development explains the poor start.
  • Red Bull is dealing with teething problems on its first in-house power unit.
  • Verstappen accepts the team must improve and wants faster fixes.

The season is still young, and Verstappen expects the team to get back to a stronger position once the power unit issues are addressed.