How Red Bull cured weaknesses to give Verstappen his first 2026 victory

Max Verstappen’s ultimately comfortable victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia wasn’t set up by him taking pole position in Qualifying; it was arranged around 10 days earlier, when Red Bull Racing unveiled an upgraded RB22 in Baku.

In what the team described as their final major upgrade of the year, Red Bull listed the package as comprising a new floor body and diffuser, new sidepods, new cooling louvres, new mirrors and a new halo fairing.

Qualifying there was disappointing, though engine troubles and yellow flags played a significant role in Verstappen starting an underwhelming eighth.