F1 News: Max Verstappen and Red Bull are in crisis, and a 'wartime relic' is to blame

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Red Bull F1

Max Verstappen and Red Bull are in F1 crisis, and a 'wartime relic' is to blame

Christian Horner previously called the wind tunnel a 'Cold War relic'

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 7 April 2026 17:55

Red Bull have had a disastrous start to the 2026 F1 season, with their new era of power unit production offering up some teething issues.

As well as the wholesale new regulations that have swept into the sport, the Milton Keynes-based outfit have also launched an ambitious project to become F1 power unit manufacturers for the first ever time.

But their early season form has not been good, with the team only having picked up 16 points from the first three grand prix weekends of 2026. What's more, four-time world champion Max Verstappen is currently down in ninth in the drivers' championship, with his best result of the season so far being sixth in Australia.

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Verstappen has adopted a rather miserable persona so far in the season, even suggesting that he is 'seriously considering' quitting the sport unless changes are made to the regulations. A number of commentators, including Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, have suggested that his demeanour might be because of how poor Red Bull have been.

Red Bull and Verstappen gone with the wind?

But the team's struggles might just centre around the fact that they, according to AutoRacer, have not invested in their wind tunnel infrastructure as their rivals McLaren, Aston Martin, Mercedes and Ferrari have, instead being focused on trying to build their power unit department from scratch.

Former team principal Christian Horner described the Red Bull wind tunnel as a 'Cold War relic' back in 2022, and doubled down on those comments in the succeeding seasons, but serious investment has not been made in the infrastructure.

So while the Red Bull power units are causing their drivers a few problems, deeper issues may lie within the car design and their ability to bring aerodynamic upgrades could be hampered by the outdated infrastructure.

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Can Verstappen win a race in 2026?

Verstappen has had his poorest start to a season since 2016, when he was still at Toro Rosso before being promoted up to Red Bull ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Then the Dutchman crashed out in qualifying in Australia, and his recovery to sixth was impressive. But what has come next has been truly woeful for the 28-year-old who harbours ambitions of claiming a fifth world title.

Ninth in the Chinese GP sprint race, a DNF in the Chinese GP main race and then an eighth-place finish in Japan, and Verstappen has not been in the hunt for a podium in any of the four races so far.

But the Dutchman's ability to maximise the performance of his Red Bull is something we have seen time and time again, and he managed to claim eight grand prix victories in 2025 despite having an inconsistent car.

While even a race win looks to be a tall order at the moment, don't rule out Red Bull making marginal gains on their rivals over the coming weeks and months that could just propel Verstappen into a space where he is challenging with the McLarens and Ferraris once more.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Christian Horner Helmut Marko