RED BULL REVEALS SEVEN-PART UPGRADE FOR CRUCIAL HOME F1 RACE AT AUSTRIAN GP

Red Bull has revealed an extensive upgrade package for the F1 Austrian Grand Prix.

Red Bull has brought a major upgrade to Austria

Red Bull has unveiled a substantial upgrade package for its home Formula 1 race, the Austrian Grand Prix. 

After bringing its first upgrades of the season to Miami, Red Bull has now unleashed an extensive raft of updates in a bid to improve its RB22 following a difficult start to the 2026 campaign. 

In total, Red Bull has made seven changes to its car for its home event at Spielberg. Red Bull has introduced a revised sidepod inlet and engine cover for reliability reasons to improve cooling.

Red Bull's upgrades for the Austrian Grand Prix

In terms of performance-related updates, Red Bull has made changes to the surface of the RB22’s floor, floor board, as well as reprofiling the rear suspension layout and rear corner.

Red Bull has also introduced a new rear wing and exhaust tailpipe, which features a revised overlap between the tailpipe exit profile and the supporting tailpipe bracket. 

Red Bull is aiming to find more aerodynamic performance and continue its weight-saving programme, having started the season with a car that was 12kg overweight. That figure was halved thanks to its Miami package. 

All eyes will be on Red Bull at its home race, particularly regarding the future of Max Verstappen. 

When asked how crucial the impact of the Austria upgrade and coming races will be for his future at Red Bull, Verstappen replied: “I think it's just crucial for us as a team, we want to improve from where we started this season to where we want to end it.

“We know that we are lacking performance, so it's more about just trying to improve the car. I think that's what everyone wants.”

Verstappen in the Austria paddock

The four-time world champion added: “Those are, of course, also the easier steps to make when you're far behind. The hardest step is always the last one, to really fight for the win. 

“So let's see how we can do that, to be in that fight again. I'm not sure [if that can happen this weekend]. But for sure, the team is always giving it 100% and pushing flat out to make the car faster.

“But we know that other teams are also constantly bringing upgrades. So we just need to always try and find a little bit more to try and close that gap. It was quite clear in Barcelona that there was still a gap, so hopefully it can be a bit better this weekend.”

Other front-running teams have joined Red Bull in bringing updates this weekend. 

Mercedes has a new front suspension and engine cover to improve performance and cooling respectively. The German manufacturer has also brought a battery fix to Austria, following Andrea Kimi Antonelli's late retirement at Barcelona.

Ferrari has brought a total of four updates, including changes to the SF-26’s front wing endplate, RV tail, floor board and mirror stay, while McLaren has introduced an updated rear corner and an “experimental rear wing” that will be trialled by reigning world champion Lando Norris on Friday. 

- Lewis Larkam

OUTCOME IF THE ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND UPGRADE OPPORTUNITIES (AUDO) ANALYSIS

 

MERCEDES BRING FIRST MAJOR UPGRADE OF F1 2026 TO CANADIAN GRAND PRIX IN BID TO FEND OFF RIVALS

Mercedes confirms it is bringing an anticipated upgrade to the Canadian Grand Prix.

Mercedes is unbeaten so far in 2026

Mercedes has confirmed it will bring its first major upgrade of the 2026 Formula 1 season to the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend.

F1 returns to action in Montreal following a three-week break with Mercedes looking to continue its unbeaten start to the campaign.

Mercedes has claimed pole position and won all four of the opening races, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli clinching three consecutive victories to build a surprise 20-point advantage over team-mate George Russell in the championship.

Antonelli celebrates his third straight F1 win

Despite Mercedes’ strong start to the season, its rivals - especially McLaren - closed the gap by bringing significant upgrades at the last round in Miami.

Mercedes did not update its W17 challenger in Miami, opting instead to debut a bigger upgrade in Canada.

“Our competitors took a step forward in Miami and we need to respond; seven Grands Prix in 10 weekends before shutdown is an opportunity to do that and build momentum,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said.

“We bring our first update package of the year to Montreal, but we know that performance is only performance once it is delivered on track.

“Despite being in the middle of May, we are just four races into the season. There is a long year ahead and, whilst this is an important weekend, it will not decide any outcomes.

“We will stay balanced, keep learning, and execute each weekend as well as we can. We won't get too high when we succeed or too low in the difficult moments; that is as true for our drivers as it is for the rest of the team.”

MCLAREN NOT DONE WITH DEVELOPMENT

Norris led a McLaren 1-2 in the Miami sprint

Reigning world champion Lando Norris beat Antonelli to pole for the Miami sprint and went on to lead a dominant McLaren 1-2 in Saturday’s shortened race, before having to settle for second behind Antonelli in the main grand prix.

McLaren nevertheless made an encouraging step forward compared to Mercedes and will continue to bring new parts to their MCL40, which was heavily revised in Miami.

"We feel extremely satisfied with the weekend, very encouraged, not only because in a single weekend we scored more points than the three previous races, but also because of the trend that we have established," McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said.

"We know that we have some more upgrades coming, which are kind of coming from the same group, so we are optimistic that they may allow us to take some further steps forward.

"I think Mercedes still possess a couple of tenths advantage on anybody else. This was the most noticeable today in the race and [in grand prix qualifying]. I think in the first sprint section of the weekend, for some reason Mercedes didn't express its full potential.

"So, I think Mercedes is still the best team, probably because we don't have many high speed corners here it's less noticeable than some other tracks. But I think they also did a good job of optimising what they had after having learned from the sprint qualifying and the sprint race."

- Lewis Larkam