Red Bull should 'reconsider' F1 chief's position over 2026 disaster

Mekies in Red Bull F1 kit with Wache in tracksuit walking through F1 paddock — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Red Bull should 'reconsider' F1 chief's position over 2026 disaster

Could yet another leadership shakeup be on the way at Red Bull?

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 11 April 2026 11:55

Red Bull have been urged to rethink their leadership structure after a disappointing start to the 2026 season.

F1 is currently in the middle of an enforced spring break after this month's Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were cancelled due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

But despite there being no on track action this month, Red Bull have been making headlines as it was announced that Max Verstappen's close ally and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is heading for McLaren when his contract ends in 2028.

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This doesn't bode well for Red Bull's future given that Verstappen is already said to be 'seriously considering' retirement, but now there are also reports that another key Red Bull figure could soon be out the door.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen tells all on McLaren move as Marko lands new Red Bull role

Should Wache answer for RB22 disaster?

A recent report claimed that Pierre Wache’s position as technical director was under pressure at Red Bull after an awful start to the season for the energy drink giants.

After the opening three races, Red Bull are sat way down in P6 in the constructors' standings and their star driver Verstappen sits even lower, just P9 in the drivers' standings.

Their 2026 car, the RB22, has been labelled 'undriveable' and at last month's Chinese GP, Verstappen even described 'every lap' as being a fight at the wheel of Wache's machinery.

Team principal Laurent Mekies recently admitted that his decision to focus on Verstappen's title fight right down to the wire last season did impact where they started heading into the new regulations era for 2026, but should Wache take the fall for an uncompetitive car design?

The Frenchman had some serious boots to fill as Adrian Newey's successor, but Wache's imminent sacking would not be a solution to Red Bull's 2026 issues in the eyes of ex-F1 star and Sky Germany pundit Ralf Schumacher.

The German racer reflected on Red Bull's situation on a recent episode of the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, implying that the team should be reconsidering their leadership structure on the technical side of things at this stage in the year.

Discussing Wache's future, Schumacher said: "I wouldn’t say that he should be completely replaced in the team right now. I think they need to look at bringing someone else in – good people, either experienced or young."

Schumacher also implied that the team has been unable to cushion the blow of Newey’s departure, adding: “Now Red Bull simply has to close this gap urgently. Because, obviously, the car is a disaster. How often have we seen Max Verstappen off the track now? That never happened before.”

Red Bull's junior outfit Racing Bulls are just two points behind them in the constructors' championship and 2026 rookie Arvid Lindblad even knocked Verstappen out of qualifying in a humiliating result for the Dutchman at the Japanese GP last time out, something that should not and arguably would not be happening if Verstappen had a dominant Red Bull underneath him once again.

Schumacher then adopted the use of an idiom to point to more trouble in the background of Red Bull F1 team, concluding: "I reckon there’s a fire burning in the background," which is essentially a very German way of saying: "I think there's something seriously wrong behind the scenes."

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Red Bull 2026 regulations Ralf Schumacher Pierre Wache