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- Red Bull’s final major 2026 upgrade helped Max Verstappen take pole position and victory at Sepang<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Isack Hadjar’s strong pace suggests the improvement goes beyond Verstappen extracting extraordinary performance from the RB22<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Singapore’s slow corners, street layout and different surface will test precisely the areas in which Red Bull has struggled this season<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Max Verstappen finally gave Red Bull what it had spent most of 2026 chasing at Sepang: a victory. But the significance of the Bahrain GP in Malaysia goes well beyond ending the four-time world champion’s winless run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The central question heading to Singapore is whether Red Bull has genuinely transformed the RB22 into a race-winning car \u2014 or whether Sepang simply provided the conditions in which its remaining weaknesses mattered less.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is growing evidence for the first explanation. Red Bull’s progress did not suddenly appear in Malaysia. A substantial upgrade introduced in Azerbaijan changed the floor, diffuser, sidepods, cooling louvres, mirrors and halo fairing, with the team focusing particularly on stabilising airflow and producing a more predictable aerodynamic platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The package was Red Bull’s final major development of 2026<\/strong>, with most resources already transferred towards next season. Its true effect, however, was obscured in Baku by power-unit problems and yellow flags. Sepang provided a much clearer answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Red Bull’s Sepang performance was bigger than Verstappen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Verstappen dominated qualifying, topping Q1, Q2 and Q3 to claim Red Bull’s first pole position of the season. He then converted it into victory despite changing weather, multiple strategic variables and a late Safety Car, beating Kimi Antonelli by 2.307s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But perhaps the more revealing evidence came from the other RB22. Isack Hadjar was also genuinely competitive throughout the weekend.<\/strong> The Frenchman finished third in FP1 and second in FP2, while Verstappen completed the second session on mediums rather than softs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hadjar then started the race eighth after taking a five-place engine penalty and recovered to fifth. He had been in contention for a podium before a battery problem compromised his closing laps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For much of 2026, Verstappen’s extraordinary ability to drive around the RB22’s limitations made it difficult to establish exactly how competitive the car itself was. When both Red Bulls operate near the front, the evidence becomes considerably stronger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result also gave greater weight to Verstappen’s explanation of why Red Bull’s breakthrough was particularly emotional for his father Jos<\/a>. After months of frustration with the team’s first internally developed power unit and a difficult chassis, Red Bull finally had a weekend in which both elements worked together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"F1](\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-bahrein-malasia-corrida-red-bull-max-verstappen-12-1024x576.png\")
Max Verstappen (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n What changed on the RB22?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Red Bull’s recovery has not come from one component.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Technical director Pierre Wach\u00e9 said during the Sepang weekend that the team had continued evaluating the Baku package, particularly its behaviour in slower corners. The most significant aerodynamic changes involved the floor and sidepod area, including revisions to the undercut designed to alter the airflow structure around the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those changes have allowed Red Bull to work with a different aerodynamic map and, crucially, give Verstappen a more predictable rear end<\/strong>. That addresses one of the RB22’s defining weaknesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier in the season, Verstappen repeatedly complained about sudden rear instability during cornering. That made it difficult to commit to the car and created a particularly narrow operating window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Red Bull has gradually reduced that behaviour rather than discovering one transformative component.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Team principal Laurent Mekies has stressed that the resurgence came from sustained progress across both the chassis and power-unit programmes rather than a single \u201cmagic upgrade\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That distinction is important because it suggests Sepang was the product of accumulated development rather than an accidental setup breakthrough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sepang also suited what Red Bull has improved<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There is nevertheless good reason to remain cautious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sepang’s characteristics provided a strong environment for the improved RB22. The circuit combines medium and high-speed corners with long straights, while extremely high temperatures and an abrasive surface created tyre behaviour unlike most venues on the calendar. Mercedes also underperformed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The championship leader brought an upgrade expected to provide around 0.3s per lap<\/strong>, yet Toto Wolff estimated the W17 had instead apparently gone four or five tenths backwards relative to expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mercedes still does not know how much of that came from its new components and how much was caused by the unusual Sepang surface. The team is now considering a back-to-back comparison in Singapore after its confusing Malaysian weekend<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ferrari also compromised its own race by starting Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on slick tyres in conditions that still favoured intermediates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hamilton eventually recovered from more than a minute behind to finish third, prompting the question of whether Ferrari had thrown away a genuine opportunity to win at Sepang<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Red Bull therefore unquestionably deserved its victory. But the weekend also contained circumstances that make it difficult to conclude that Verstappen now possesses the fastest car everywhere. Singapore should provide a much cleaner test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Singapore is the real test for Red Bull<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Marina Bay asks very different questions of a Formula 1 car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The street circuit places far greater emphasis on low-speed performance, traction, mechanical grip and confidence over bumps and kerbs<\/strong>. There are fewer sustained high-speed corners in which aerodynamic efficiency can compensate for weaknesses elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is particularly relevant to Red Bull because low-speed behaviour has been one of the RB22’s recurring problems. Singapore will therefore attack precisely the area Red Bull needs to prove it has improved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The track surface also provides a useful contrast with Sepang. Antonelli believes Mercedes’ Malaysian difficulties may have been amplified by old asphalt, noting that the W17 has struggled at circuits with particularly aged surfaces this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Mercedes returns to its expected level at Marina Bay while Red Bull remains at the front, the significance of Verstappen’s Malaysian victory changes considerably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It would suggest that Red Bull has not merely benefited from a Mercedes setback or an unusually favourable circuit. It would suggest the competitive order itself has moved<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hadjar could provide the most important evidence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Verstappen winning again would naturally dominate the headlines, but Hadjar may actually provide the more useful benchmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the Frenchman is again capable of qualifying and racing close to the front, Red Bull will have a much stronger case that the RB22 has undergone a genuine transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sepang offered precisely that evidence. Hadjar’s final fifth place understated his performance. After starting eighth because of his engine penalty, he moved into contention for the podium and remained there until the battery problem late in the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The improvement is especially significant because Hadjar and Verstappen had previously complained about similar characteristics in the RB22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two competitive Red Bulls in Singapore would be much harder to explain as circuit-specific performance.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
And with no more major upgrades expected this season, whatever Red Bull demonstrates at Marina Bay should largely reflect the platform it will carry through the remaining rounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"F1](\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-bahrein-malasia-corrida-red-bull-isack-hadjar-5-1024x576.png\")
Isack Hadjar (Photo: Pirelli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n A Red Bull win could change the final phase of 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Drivers’ Championship remains firmly in Antonelli’s hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Mercedes driver left Sepang with 320 points and an 84-point advantage over Russell<\/strong>, while Hamilton sits another 22 points behind. Verstappen’s difficult opening months mean his first victory came too late to immediately transform him into the central figure in the title battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Red Bull can still have an enormous influence on how that championship is decided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n