12/10/2025 08:20
Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché has issued an update on
his squad's challenger for the 2026 season. The car is being built
under a brand new set of technical regulations, which includes a
major revamp to the aerodynamics rules. It will also see a
significant change to the power unit, and Red Bull will enter the
new campaign with its own in-house-built engine for the first time
in its history. With the car set to hit the track for the first
time in just over three months, Waché has provided a positive
update on the power unit. "With the power unit, it's difficult to
say, but it looks very, very promising," Waché exclusively told
RacingNews365 . However, things are less certain when it comes to
the performance of the chassis due to how teams will interpret the
rules when constructing their challengers. "On the car, there are
new aerodynamic regulations and it's difficult to say," Waché
added. "There's a lot to find, difficult to know what the ideas the
others will have. "Normally, you learn a lot when you see the other
car, you try to understand what everybody's doing. I hope we find a
good direction, but you never know." Red Bull slipped back in the
pecking order this year following Max Verstappen's run of title
success across the last four seasons. However, a positive
development path has brought Red Bull back into contention at the
front of the field. After victories in Italy and Azerbaijan,
Verstappen continued his strong form last time out in Singapore
with a drive to second place, leaving him 66 points adrift of the
championship lead. Having implemented a positive trajectory after a
challenging start to the year, Waché detailed it is a major element
to consider for next season's fight. "It's very important also for
next year, that aspect as well, that we continue [to develop],"
Waché said. "Everything we understand, even if it's a different
regulation, in terms of characteristic, in terms what the driver
needs - and Yuki - it will be the same problem next year. Even if
you achieve it in a different way." However, with such a major rule
change coming into play next year, Wache played down the
significance of the impact the current car performance will have on
next year's challenger. "It could be, but you never know - it
should not be [related]," Waché said. "Everything you remove from
the development of next year could have a small impact here. "But
just to make it clear, what we have now and what we have a little
bit later is developed a long time in advance. It's not like it's
from yesterday."
