Max Verstappen secured a podium finish at the Circuit of the Americas, but the atmosphere in the Red Bull hospitality on Sunday evening remained frustrated. Team members acknowledged that Kimi Antonelli’s race pace was unmatchable, while both drivers expressed disappointment that the team failed to maximize its package in Austin.
Lingering Team Radio and Start Problems
The difficult Sunday afternoon stemmed partly from race-specific issues, including strategic decisions that Verstappen disliked, such as staying on softer compounds while harder tires performed better, alongside inconsistent power unit behavior. However, the struggles were also driven by recurring problems that have plagued the team all year: poor race starts and technical radio failures.
Isack Hadjar voiced his frustration in the media pen, stating as reported by Autosport.com: “At the moment, it’s the little things we can’t do. I have poor radio, I don’t even know what’s happening. And whenever I drop the clutch, it’s going into a nightmare. If we fix these two issues, we might already be on the podium. It seems like we can do the hardest things, but we can’t do the silly things.”
By the hardest things, Hadjar referred to Red Bull’s success in closing the massive performance gap at the front of the field. In Australia, China, and Japan, the team’s average deficit in race pace stood at 1.2 seconds per lap, making their recovery over the course of the season a significant achievement.
Radio Troubles and Complex Start Issues
When Autosport.com raised these observations with team principal Laurent Mekies, he explained that the two issues must be treated separately. He noted that the radio problem is unacceptable for a top-tier team and needs resolving before the end of the year, whereas the start issue is far more complex and will persist until 2027.
Addressing the radio failures, Mekies said: “If we were understanding it, we would have solved it. We don’t fully understand why we are being hit by these issues. I have to admit that the competition is doing a better job than us because we can hear everyone’s radio and we have been struggling more than what we would have liked to.” Both drivers experienced radio trouble in Austin, marking Hadjar’s first time this season, while Verstappen has faced similar issues previously, including in Singapore.
The start problem involves a wide range of departments across the company. Hadjar argued that Red Bull needs to redesign the clutch due to excessive sensitivity despite following correct procedures. Mekies clarified that launch performance involves the engine, gearbox, clutch, and other components, making them fall short of being the benchmark.
A permanent solution will require hardware modifications for the 2027 F1 season, specifically altering how the clutch, gearbox, power unit, and turbo interact. While sister team Racing Bulls has achieved better starts using identical hardware, Mekies stated that while current software and procedures can still yield minor improvements, a complete fix remains out of reach for the immediate future.
“On the other side, I equally know that we will not be the benchmark before the end of the season,” Mekies concluded to Autosport.com. “That will require some significant design and hardware changes, and this is something that we will only see next year.”
