Red Bull reveals its ‘main challenge’ in preparing for the 2026 F1 regulations

Pierre Wache highlighted multiple issues that Red Bull could face in its preparation for the 2026 rule changes.

Red Bull reveals its ‘main challenge’ in preparing for the 2026 F1 regulations

Max Verstappen, Helmut Marko, and Christian Horner (Via: Imago)

Red Bull has been struggling to continue its dominance since the past few race weekends. The RB20 has faced severe grip and balancing issues alongside other simulator data errors. The team will have to continue to upgrade the chassis to start scoring better results. Moreover, Milton Keynes will start focusing on the upcoming regulation changes in the 2026 season.

Adrian Newey‘s exit from Red Bull might take a big hit at Milton Keynes’ performance in the new set of regulations. Regardless, Technical Director Pierre Wache is hopeful of creating a championship-winning chassis in 2026 as well. Wache reckoned that he was looking forward to the new regulations as the more he thought about it, the more he could anticipate the issues. Additionally, the team will be able to work only on the aero side of the chassis.

We are looking forward, because the more you think about it, the more you can anticipate some issues. We will be able to work on the aero side only in the beginning of next year, then we are preparing ourselves.
Pierre Wache said, as reported by Formula1.com.
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However, building the new 2026 power units, especially with the new collaborator Ford would be a big challenge. Wache noted that the power unit development was looking ‘promising’ for Red Bull. According to the 49-year-old, the main challenge was to balance the resources between the current and future projects planned for Red Bull in other aspects.

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The engine is a big challenge also for us, and it’s looking promising. The main challenge is how to balance the resource between all these [current and future] projects.
Pierre Wache added.

Pierre Wache claims the technical team is on the ‘car performance’

Red Bull has multiple cars to work on simultaneously. Milton Keynes will have to bring the in-season upgrades to the RB20 challenger. Additionally, the team also has to work on the next year’s chassis and the chassis under the new set of regulations. Hence, Wache reckoned that it was a ‘big change’ for the team, but the technical team was massively focused on the car’s performance.

I think the technical team is massively focused on the car and on the performance, For the current year and next year’s development, we have three cars to work on, [also with] 2026 that is a big change.
Pierre Wache noted.
Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Apart from this, Wache even talked about Adrian Newey’s exit. Multiple people believed that the exit of the aero-genius would see the constructor fail miserably under new regulations. However, the Frenchman has great belief in the rest of the team’s capabilities to build the chassis. The 49-year-old said that the team was focused on their own work despite Newey’s shocking exit.

As a person, people like [Newey], and he’s leaving… but we are focused on our side, to be fair.
Pierre Wache concluded.

The Red Bull crew has a lot of work on their plate with regard to chassis development. Milton Keynes will hoping to cover lost ground against rival in the coming races. Ferrari and McLaren can close the window to the forefront with consistent efforts against the Austrian constructor’s degrading form.

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