Red Bull F1 star facing shock axe over 2026 mess - reports

The position of an important member of the Red Bull F1 team is said to be under threat, as their 2026 car continues to fall well short of expectations.

It’s widely known that four-time world champion Max Verstappen is conflicted about his future in the sport, largely due to his strong dislike of the new regulations.

Even before the first season under the new rules got underway, Verstappen sparked controversy by saying the sport had become like 'Formula E on steroids', and he soon reinforced that opinion after the opening race weekend.

But Verstappen's struggle hasn't been helped by the fact that the team who helped him fight for the title right down to the wire last season have now been unable to provide him with a car capable of fighting for a qualifying spot in the top 10, let alone wins.

As the 2026 championship begins a five-week long enforced break, rumours are now coming out of Red Bull that the man behind the RB22's design could be at risk of being on the chopping block, with the technical staff allegedly split over the direction taken under the leadership of Pierre Wache.

A recent report from GPblog stated: "As technical director, Wache is ultimately responsible for Red Bull’s chassis. His future with the Austrians grows murkier by the day after once again producing a car that simply isn’t good enough."

GPFans have contacted Red Bull for comment.

Adrian Newey's successor at risk of Red Bull axe

Wache has been a key member of the energy drink giant's F1 effort since 2013, when he joined the Milton Keynes-based squad as Chief Engineer- Performance Engineering.

In 2018, the Frenchman took up the role of Technical Director as part of a restructuring within the technical arm of the F1 outfit, working alongside design legend Adrian Newey.

So, when the British F1 genius made the shock announcement that he would be leaving Red Bull in 2024, Wache was his obvious successor.

But the overhaul of the sport's chassis and power unit regulations were the first real test of Wache's ability at the head of Red Bull's F1 project, given the 2026 challenger was the first time he would be working on a car that hadn't been initially designed by Newey.

Though the Brit had already stepped away from the day-to-day running of the technical side of Red Bull when the RB21 was designed, it still drew inspiration from Newey's previous work such as the dominant RB19.

And after just three races at the wheel of the Wache's RB22, Verstappen is clearly unhappy with the package.

Verstappen pushing for chassis change

Verstappen's boss Laurent Mekies is attempting to put on a united front and give a show of optimism as talk of an early retirement for his star driver continues to spread.

The Red Bull team principal has insisted that he and Verstappen are not discussing his retirement, instead focusing on improving the car so that the Dutchman no longer feels the need to throw in the towel.

But could the answer to Red Bull's car problems be another reshuffle of the technical team?

Verstappen himself certainly didn't speak highly of Wache's chassis, maintaining that he doesn't feel there is an issue with the team's new power unit, indicating that the blame might be laid at Wache's door.

“I think our energy recovery system is working fine. Sure, we could improve on correlation and calibration, but power isn’t our major weakness - even if we aren’t as dominant as Mercedes in that area," Verstappen said.

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