Red Bull’s Achilles heel remains despite positive soundings over 2026 power unit – Recent revelations emerging suggest both Mercedes and Red Bull may steal a march on the competition early in 2026. This is due to a loophole both have explored in the FIA’s new technical regulations governing compression restrictions designed to ensure less peak performance and greater efficiency.
With the all new bio fuels being developed by the manufacturers lubricant partner’s the fuel load will drop from 100kg to just 70kg although Mercedes and Red Bull’s PU’s may be more thirsty than the rest of the field.
A rogue engineer leaving the Brixworth high performance power unit division Mercedes has revealed the team is experimenting with components in the combustion engine which expand when the engine is hot. This will up the compression rate above the FIA’s mandated maximum and will go undetected due to the manner in which F1’s governing body will test this regulation.
Compression will be tested whilst the car is stationary and at ambient temperatures, the FIA have declared. Testing this while the car is on track has proven to be difficult for the FIA to achieve, so the grey area in the regulations will be exploited to the limit.
Max Verstappen is said to have been impressed with the progress of Red Bull’s first ever home built powertrain with the team’s technical director of RBPT revealing his thoughts. “He was able to see some running engines doing laps, so he got to hear what the ’26 power unit would sound like.
“I think he was impressed. This is an exceptional facility put together by a group of really exceptional people. The level of detail we go into on every single element, I think is absolutely vital in trying to get where we aspire to get on the grid and on the podium,”
Red Bull have proven once again in 2025, even without the guidance of Adrian Newey, they are the team who pushed boundaries the best in terms of in season development. Should they emerge somewhere near the front of the pecking order, then another Verstappen championship will surely be on the cars.
F1 row erupting over 2026 regulation loophole
In terms of the constructors’ title, the team last won it in 2023 when Sergio Perez gave them the team’s first ever 1-2 in the drivers title race. Yet the Milton Keynes Achilles heel may strike again next season and prevent them from closing the gap to Mercedes who have eight team titles from 2014-2021.
Verstappen almost pulled off the greatest comeback in F1 history when he closed down a 104 points gap after his home Grand Prix in Zandvoort, to just two as the chequered flag fell in Abu Dhabi. To do so he won six of the remaining nine Grand Prix and he was left to rue a moment of madness in Spain, which cost him a probable 13 points.
Laurent Mekies too appears to have settled into the throne of the once King of Red Bull, Christian Horner. The British boss of twenty years was summarily sacked following the British Grand Prix and the relatively unknown Frenchman was forced to step up.
Red Bull’s new boss was credited with turning around the team’s season, although the silver bullet – the Monza floor – was in progress before Honer left. Yet facing a rebellion amongst the loyal staff for Horner, Mekies has quietly plotted a new path for the team and garnered significant support given the tense nature of the title run in.
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“I think Mekies has done a really good job in galvanising that team,” said racing driver Sam Bird on this weeks F1 Chequered Flag Podcast who also reflected on Red Bull’s recent woes. “I remember we did a podcast a couple of years ago when news came out about Christian Horner, and we were very downcast on the future of the Milton Keynes-based team.
“But look, I think that when he [Mekies] picked up the reins after Silverstone, the decisions that he’s made have been really strong.” Yet the former Mercedes test driver and Formula E pilot believes there remains a glaring weakness for the Red Bull team.
Red Bull have for the most been a one car team since the departure of Daniel Ricciardo, with a host of drivers pairing with Verstappen. The team have been accused of building a car which is designed around the Dutch driver as some kind of explanation for the guy in performance differential between him and his team mates.
So unless Red Bull can build a 2026 challenger which is more friendly for the second driver or Isack Hadjar defies expectations and can challenge the four times world champion, then the constructors’ champion ship will remain an illusive mirage.
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“The one thing about Red Bull, though, is they are still a one-car team,” continues Bird. “And unless Max Verstappen wins every race, I can’t see them challenging for a constructors’ championship again. We’ll see what Isack Hadjar can do next year, but it is a one-car team right now,” concludes the Fomrula E driver.
Despite crashing out on the formation lap at the 2025 season opener in Melbourne, Hadjar has been the most impressive of the rookie divers this year. Were it not for two disappointing Grand Prix in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the impressive young Frech-Algerian would surely have made the top ten in the final standings for the year.
Once Liam Lawson was demoted to the Racing Bull’s team after just two race weekends, Yuki Tsunoda was around 0.5-0.6 seconds slower in qualifying than his team mate Verstappen. Hadjar would be deemed a success, were he able to narrow this to around 0.25-0.3 seconds and then his proven race craft would see him in the points on most Grand Prix weekends.
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Vasseur’s new claims at the Ferrari festive bash
’Tis the season to be jolly’ and the Ferrari Formula One team have their very own Farther Christmas in their rotund red clad team principal, Fred Vasseur. The boss of the Scuderia cuts a different jib from many of his predecessors, as he chortles his way through the FIA approved press conferences, its not a huge jump of the imagination to see him with a white beard and a sack of presents.
The festive bash in Maranello was instituted by none other than Enzo Ferrari himself and the tradition continues today. Fans, mechanics and the press are invited to the Ferrari do the week before Christmas with the back drop behind them of the Fiorano track.
The big screen behold the stage ran a newsreel type show, with highlights of Ferrari’s 2025 season running on a loop. Although the video makers were challenged in terms of the content, given the highlights of the year for Ferrari were numbered…. READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
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