Max Verstappen has reflected on the first half of the 2026 season. For the first time in years, the Dutch world champion did not achieve a single victory in the first eleven Grands Prix of the year. Verstappen can therefore only describe the season so far in one way: ‘Difficult’.
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Red Bull experienced its worst start to a season in years in 2026. Max Verstappen did not stand on the top step of the podium even once during the first half of the season. However, there is now a slight upward trend at the Austrian team. During the last race before the summer break, the Hungarian GP, the RB22 seemed competitive again and Verstappen finished second.
Still, the Dutch world champion can only summarize the first half of the season in one way. “Difficult,” Verstappen said in the press conference after the Hungarian GP. “Overall, it has been very difficult. There were some good moments, a few beautiful, brilliant moments, I think. But overall, it was difficult.”
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Goal after the summer break
For Verstappen, it is clear what Red Bull needs to do after the summer break. “So we have to try to be a bit more solid, a bit more versatile, to have smoother race weekends,” he continued. “Moreover, we need to extract more performance (from the RB22, ed.). I mean, it’s that simple in the end. And then, besides getting more performance, we also need to make sure we no longer have problems with the current package.”
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Read everything about the Dutch GP in Zandvoort here
