Speaking in a print media session following the conclusion of the 2026 F1 United States GP, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies discussed the team’s plans to improve radio and clutch issues.
With the final upgrade package of the 2026 F1 season, Red Bull brought it to this year’s Azerbaijan GP and made significant gains, enabling star driver Max Verstappen to score two consecutive victories in Malaysia and Singapore, plus podiums in Baku and this Sunday’s 2026 F1 United States GP.
Despite the significant improvement of the overall package, Red Bull remain vulnerable at the start. At the 2026 F1 United States GP, Verstappen, who started P2 on the soft tyre, couldn’t capitalize on his tyre choice and failed to launch an attack on pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli, who started on the medium. Instead, the Dutchman had to fence off the fast-charging Ferrari drivers, while Red Bull teammate Hadjar lost position to the Ferrari duo due to the team’s persistent clutch-related issues. On top of the clutch issue, Red Bull also experienced radio issues.
Mekies says fix for 2026 F1 US and Singapore GP radio issues a priority for Red Bull
After the 2026 F1 United States GP, Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar shared his frustration with persistent clutch issues that consistently hampered the car’s off-the-line performance, as well as recurring radio problems. In response to his comments, Mekies said Red Bull shared Hadjar’s frustration and that the radio issue, which had already occurred in Singapore, was a priority.
“I guess two different ways to answer your question. I think there is some truth in what Isack [Hadjar] is saying, meaning we are all frustrated to struggle for the second race in a row with the radio issues.
“It’s making everyone’s lives very difficult, so it is true that it’s something that we would like to fix quite quickly because it’s an item that should be working without using too much of our energy.
“So he’s right on that one.”
Clutch issue not an easy fix
While Red Bull has made gains, the clutch-related launch issue is “complex,” according to Mekies, who notes that now that the Milton Keynes-based outfit has grown more competitive, the issue is highlighted as main rivals are “very strong” in this area.
“The start is a slightly more complex issue to solve, meaning that the start performance is going across pretty much all the departments of the company, probably except aerodynamic.
“It’s engine, it’s gearbox, it’s clutch, it’s many things, and we certainly have seen from the beginning of the season that we are not the benchmark in terms of launch performance.
“As much as we have reduced the gap to competition, and you may remember how bad our starts were at the beginning of the year, we are still not the benchmark.
“And yes, the fact that the car in the meantime improved a lot and is fighting closer to the front makes that deficit even more painful now because competition around us is very strong.”
Red Bull does not expect to significantly improve race starts this season
After struggling with their race starts since the start of the 2026 F1 season, Red Bull has made gains, but not enough compared to its direct competitors, Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren. While the start issue will not be resolved before the 2027 F1 season, as it involves redesigns and “hardware changes”, Mekies was “confident” that Red Bull could still find improvements in the meantime.
“So, to your point, on one side I’m confident that we will continue to reduce the gap to the competition from now to the end of the year because every race we learn, every race we come up with small ways to close the gap.
“On the other side, I equally know that we will not be the benchmark before the end of the season, that it will require some significant design and hardware changes, and that this is something that we will see only next year.”
