Red Bull Racing given 5/10 mid‑season rating amid power‑unit troubles

Former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley has awarded Red Bull Racing a mid‑season rating of five out of ten for the 2026 Formula 1 campaign. He said the team faces “quite big” problems every weekend, ranging from balance and race‑pace consistency to fundamental reliability issues with its new RB22 power unit, developed in partnership with Ford.

Both Max Verstappen and rookie Isack Hadjar have suffered multiple retirements linked to mechanical failures, including rear‑wing breakages and sudden loss of performance during races. Verstappen remains winless this season, though he managed a second‑place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix after fighting from sixth on the grid. Smedley warned that the car appears to develop a new problem each weekend, preventing the team from delivering the results expected of a championship‑winning outfit.