Oscar Piastri now views Red Bull as “the class of the field” alongside Mercedes, as McLaren loses ground in Formula 1’s 2026 pecking order. Red Bull brought a significant upgrade to its RB22 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, featuring revamped sidepods, floor, mirrors, halo and diffuser.
This led to the team’s best results of the season so far, with Max Verstappen hounding George Russell for the win from eighth on the grid in Baku, before the four-time world champion romped to victory in Malaysia. Meanwhile, McLaren also updated its MCL40 in Baku, but the papaya cars have struggled to maintain their status of victory contenders after Lando Norris triumphed earlier in the year.
Oscar Piastri and Isack Hadjar
Team principal Andrea Stella noted that the upgrade worked as expected, but didn’t bring the hoped-for gain relative to other top teams. Oscar Piastri could have finished on the podium in Baku but for a late error, and at Sepang both drivers finished outside the top five.
“Mercedes have been very strong the whole season obviously, and I think Baku with the long straights there, it wasn't a big surprise that they were so quick,” Oscar Piastri commented. “Whatever Red Bull put on their car in Baku clearly was big... And then obviously in Malaysia he was definitely the quickest car-and-driver combination. I definitely think the others around us are making progress. Us and Ferrari kind of seem to and fro a little bit, but Mercedes have always been the class of the field, and I think Red Bull have kind of joined them in the last couple of weeks.”
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris noted that the team suffered from straight-line speed limitations and general performance deficits compared to their strong weekends in Budapest and Zandvoort, adding that the team is working flat out to resolve these issues ahead of Singapore.
Oscar Piastri sits 7th in the drivers' championship standings with 128 points.
Source: Motorsport
