Laurent Mekies issues Red Bull reality check over Austria upgrades

Laurent Mekies says Red Bull’s planned upgrades for the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix won’t be enough to fully close the gap to the front.

Red Bull is set to roll out an upgrade package for the RB22 at its home race at the Red Bull Ring, but Mekies says further steps will be needed to catch up to the leading teams.

Laurent Mekies doubts Austria upgrades will close Red Bull gap

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

Red Bull had a somewhat anonymous race last time out, with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya not playing to the strengths of the RB22 as Laurent Mekies revealed the team had expected a “reality check” after being able to fight for pole position the previous week in Monaco.

With the circuit made up of mid to high-speed corners, Mekies said that the gap is around “three or four tenths” from what is needed to be able to fight for the win, but this is already quite an improvement from where the team started the season.

“There is still a gap, no doubt, PU side, chassis side, and you know that’s what we need to fight for next,” he said after the Barcelona Grand Prix.

“It’s not about one single thing anymore, it’s about finding a little bit of performance in mid-speed corners, in high-speed corners, on the straights, etc.”

Following Max Verstappen’s finish in a somewhat lonely fourth place, the four-time F1 World Champion said this season’s competitive picture is going to be all about which teams show up with effective upgrade packages for their cars; this early in the new regulation cycle means that performance gains are still relatively easy to find.

Red Bull took a big step forward at the Miami Grand Prix, courtesy of an upgrade package that saw Verstappen full of praise for the team after transforming the characteristics of the car from one that was difficult and unpredictable to one that he felt he could push.

“A few things have changed, and it made it a lot more comfortable to drive,” he said during the weekend in Miami.

“I feel a lot more confidence and I don’t feel like I’m a passenger anymore in the car.”

With Red Bull now seeking outright performance to close that gap, Ferrari was the team to show up with a big upgrade package in Barcelona, with changes made via an all-new front wing, floor, diffuser, and more, with the package aimed at improving airflow, wake control, and adding downforce.

This translated into a hugely competitive weekend for Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton ending Mercedes’ clean sweep of the season so far as the seven-time F1 World Champion came out on top of an intense strategy battle to win.

As Red Bull returns to the home of its parent company at the eponymous race track in Austria, the RB22 will also have available its latest upgrade package, but Mekies has poured cold water on it being significant enough to fully close the gap to the front as the team seeks to match the likes of McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes on pace.

“Only lap time will answer your questions, really,” he told the media, including PlanetF1.com, after the Barcelona Grand Prix, when asked about whether Red Bull can emulate Ferrari’s leap forward with its upgrades.

“The picture of the season is this performance variations based on who is bringing their upgrade.

“Ferrari made a big step forward this weekend. Obviously, our next big one is in Austria, but it’s only as good as the real lap time on the track it brings.

“Everyone in Milton Keynes has been working very hard for that package, and there is no doubt that the Austrian package alone will not be enough.

“We know we’ll have some further steps needed, but what is important is that it’s on that continuous closing the gap trajectory that we have been on since post-Japan, that we continue to get closer, that we don’t talk anymore about four-tenths, but hopefully about a lot less.”

Part of that push for Austria will include the shedding of some excess weight as the team seeks to get closer to the 768kg minimum, with the RB22 rumoured to have started the season around 10kg over this figure.

“Eat less! That’s my plan!” Mekies joked when asked about the plans to reduce the weight of the car.

“That’s my plan for Austria, and hopefully we’ll get lighter there.

“Austrian food is good, I know, but the plan is to get the car to eat a little bit less there and to get on a bit of a diet.”

More on Red Bull and upgrades in F1 2026

Red Bull reveals how Miami breakthrough came from more than RB22 upgrades

Ferrari unleash major Barcelona upgrade as intriguing front wing twist spotted

Red Bull’s arrival in Austria comes as the team is seeking answers from the FIA regarding the findings of the ADUO power unit benchmarking, which has judged the RBPT DM01 to be the standard setter.

Red Bull doesn’t feel its internal combustion engine can be viewed as the benchmark, given the realities of the competitive picture when the power unit as a whole is taken into account, but the DM01 has proven a competitive engine right from the off in this regulation cycle.

Where the power unit does appear to have a weakness is at the start of the race, with both Verstappen and Isack Hadjar finding it difficult to make consistently good getaways; in Barcelona, Hadjar had to put in a combative drive to recover after falling from sixth to 14th on the run down to Turn 1.

This difficulty, Mekies said, is all part of the learning curve in the first year of Red Bull being a manufacturer in its own right.

“We have had weak starts so far this season,” he said.

“It’s part of year one as a power unit manufacturer; we learned there are a lot of things we need to improve and to work out between the chassis side and the PU side.

“Certainly, we have been saying we have a very good power unit, but it’s also a PU that has a very narrow window, and there are many areas where you also may make your life a little bit more difficult, so it’s part of the learning process in year one.”

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!