Red Bull resurgence and Mercedes pace
Red Bull resurgence has changed the late-season picture in Formula 1, and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff expects it to carry into 2027. Wolff said Red Bull will be part of the “full-on fight” between teams at the front, after Max Verstappen won the last two races.
Mercedes are still closing on a world championship double. Kimi Antonelli can clinch the drivers’ title as early as this weekend’s United States Grand Prix if results go his way, while the team’s season was built on eight wins from the first 10 rounds.
That win rate has slowed. Mercedes have three victories in the last seven races, and Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull have all shown they can challenge the Silver Arrows on race weekends.
Mercedes title position
Wolff’s assessment came after Verstappen’s dominant victory in Singapore. The Mercedes chief said Red Bull deserved credit for how the car was developed and how the package came together, adding that Verstappen’s feel for what he wants from the car turns that work into results.
Wolff called Verstappen “by far the quickest guy” in Singapore and the quickest in Kuala Lumpur. He also said Mercedes hope their upgrade starts to work and lands where it should, so they can be competitive against him.
The Mercedes boss said next year will be a full-on fight between the teams, with Red Bull part of it. He also said Red Bull’s first power unit has been performing strongly, with no sign of it lagging.
Red Bull power unit and upgrade
Wolff said he had not seen the Singapore data yet, but that the Internal Combustion Unit appears very competitive. He pointed to the ADUO ranking, where Red Bull have been found to be leading, and to energy recovery and deployment as areas where they are “pretty good.”
Red Bull’s RB22 gained performance and stability from a significant aerodynamic upgrade at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last month. That was the team’s final update of note this season, with development focus now on the 2027 car.
With six rounds left, Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies admitted the pecking order could change rapidly if competitors bring upgrades. He said there will be no other substantial upgrade, but the team will keep pushing to improve and learn from every remaining race.
Austin test and 2027 focus
Red Bull head to Austin’s Circuit of the Americas chasing a third win in succession. Their late-season bid is also to overhaul McLaren for third in the Constructors’ Championship.
Mekies said the first win is the target, but so is taking all the learning. He said the development programme will not change and that Red Bull have put their focus on 2027, while still seeing huge learning in 2026 that could be used next year.
He credited Pierre Wache’s team and Ben Hodgkinson’s team at Milton Keynes for putting Red Bull in position to fight for wins on different tracks. He also said the team remain honest about things they want done better, even after a weekend with two poles and two wins in Singapore.
The United States Grand Prix in Austin is live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Every session is available, with the race weekend starting Friday evening.
The original report was published by skysports.com.
