Ralf Schumacher delivers harsh criticism of the Red Bull team. After a flop in the sprint qualifying in Shanghai, the former F1 driver drew his conclusions. According to Schumacher, Max Verstappen’s team, which narrowly made it to SQ3 in China, is now paying the price for the departure of several key figures. Think of sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, engineer Rob Marshall, top advisor Helmut Marko, and of course, master designer Adrian Newey.
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Red Bull has changed significantly over the past two years. Within a relatively short period, the team said goodbye to a number of key figures who were decisive for the success of the Austrian racing stable for decades. Under team principal Laurent Mekies, who took over from Christian Horner last year, a fresh wind is blowing through the team. While that brought Red Bull new successes last season, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar seem little competitive for 2026 so far.
‘Even Racing Bulls seems better’
“They (Red Bull, ed.) are now paying the price for the loss of the various key figures in the team,” said Schumacher in an analysis for Sky Sports. “The new concept, the new regulations, have not been implemented as well as expected. The engine is okay, but if we are honest, Racing Bulls even seems to have had a better winter break,” he stated sharply. “And then we still have to see what Lindblad can do with that car. Red Bull really needs to look into that internally.”
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“The car is too heavy and simply not good enough,” Schumacher summarized. “Even Max (Verstappen, ed.) cannot change that. So there is still a lot of work to be done.” The four-time world champion has already expressed criticism of the new regulations in recent weeks. After the sprint qualifying in China, he also complained about the drivability of his RB22 and a lack of grip. “Life is not always easy,” Schumacher reacted to Verstappen’s situation. “That’s how it goes sometimes, and he will have to get through it. The potential is there, and he has the team behind him. Last year he also had a phase where things didn’t go well, but in the end, he was able to compete for the title. So he certainly doesn’t have to throw in the towel. As a world champion, you have to be able to deal with this too.”
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