Red Bull has two aims for the remaining Formula 1 races of 2026: avoid its first winless season since 2015 and learn as much as possible ahead of next year. Max Verstappen and team-mate Isack Hadjar have both put that learning process at the centre of the team’s priorities, with seven or eight race weekends left depending on the situation in the Middle East.

Verstappen, a four-time world champion, has said several times that Baku was theoretically Red Bull’s best opportunity to win this season. He cited the circuit layout and the fact Mercedes did not yet have its long-awaited upgrade. He now says the variety of tracks still to come can help the team assess its car and plan for 2027.

“We have to wait a little bit now in the coming races to see how our car is going to perform, which is probably also quite good for us, to see all these different kinds of tracks”, Verstappen said. “We’ll probably learn a lot over these coming races of what we need for next year, and what we want to do with the car.”

He said Red Bull is not in contention for the championship and described the rest of the season as a learning curve. He added that the last few weekends had already been much better than the start of the year.

Hadjar, the French driver who has ended the curse of Red Bull’s second seat, also said preparation for 2027 takes priority over individual race results. Asked by Autosport about the team’s main objective for the rest of the season, he said: “It’s good. It should be eight races to the end and there’s no pressure. It’s not like we’re fighting for any championship. Now we have eight races to learn as much as we can.”

“We have to try all the things, make all the mistakes now and do all the learning to arrive in 2027 ready to roll and start on high. That’s the target and that’s the spirit in the team. So now we go all in until the end and see what we can learn from it,” Hadjar said.

Verstappen has previously said he has ideas for “bigger changes” to Red Bull’s 2027 car. Adjustments are needed to make the team more competitive and prevent “car degradation” from returning next year. The current RB22 cannot receive those changes during this campaign, partly because of limitations in its chassis and partly because of the budget cap.

Red Bull’s Baku package was its final significant upgrade for this year’s challenger. Verstappen said he was satisfied with it, describing it as “a decent step”. He said a larger improvement would be needed next year if the team wants to compete, covering “everything: the car, the power unit, everything.”

Asked about limits on changes to the power unit without an ADUO token, Verstappen agreed there were restrictions but said the team could still make refinements. “That’s true, but of course we can still fine-tune things,” he said.

Hadjar was asked whether he, like Verstappen, had ideas about what should be structurally different for the RB23. He replied with a smile: “Yes, absolutely. And we are mostly aligned on those things.” The drivers’ comments point to a season-end push to test options and gather information for Red Bull’s next car, while the team continues its effort to secure a win in 2026.

Based on reporting by Autosport.