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Verstappen can forget about the world title: Red Bull shows it will simply come up short in 2026

Verstappen can forget about the world title: Red Bull shows it will simply come up short in 2026

·Updated 1 hr ago·41 pts
Max VerstappenRed Bull

TL;DR

Red Bull's pace drops again, making Verstappen's 2026 world title unlikely, with Mekies leaving after Zandvoort.

  • Red Bull shows a further decline in pace after an early fightback.
  • Verstappen masks RB22's shortcomings but cannot sustain the pace.
  • Mekies departs Red Bull early after Zandvoort.

From GPBlog · 2 hrs ago

Red Bull loses ground again: after an early fightback, another drop in pace. Verstappen masks the RB22's shortcomings; Mekies departs early after Zandvoort.

How bad is it really?

Red Bull have scored 58 points across the last 3 rounds, down from 59 in the 3 before.

Their car ranks 4th of 11 on qualifying pace, 0.339s off the pace leader in recent qualifying.

Best finish in that run: 2nd.

Red Bull season record

Who’s who

  • Laurent Mekies is the team principal at Red Bull.

The coverage

GPBlog is a lower-tier outlet - quick to publish, and the tier most likely to overstate a claim.

GPBlog is the only outlet we track carrying this. Nobody else has picked it up yet, so there is nothing to corroborate it against.