Rival teams regard Red Bull’s new power unit as strong in the squad’s first year as an engine manufacturer, but the team’s 2026 slump has been traced inside the factory to persistent RB22 chassis problems. After three races the squad had just 16 points and sat sixth in the Constructors’ Championship — their worst opening sequence since 2008 — and engineers are privately debating whether the RB22 should be heavily revised or even scrapped.

Technical staff and drivers singled out the chassis rather than the power unit. Isack Hadjar described the RB22 as a “terrible” chassis, “just slow in the corners,” and warned the team currently has “no lead on how we can make a fast one,” while saying drivers can still “drive the car fast.” Team principal Laurent Mekies said the expected gap to Mercedes has widened to roughly a second and about half a second to Ferrari, that the squad has been “starting to scratch heads” since China, and that engineers are diagnosing complex balance and lift/extraction problems while carrying out targeted development work. The team plans to use an enforced five-week break to work intensively on the RB22 ahead of Miami.

Those technical setbacks have fuelled internal unease. Sources reported staff privately questioning whether the team were better off under Christian Horner, and long-serving mechanic Ole Schack resigned citing a changed working atmosphere. Horner still retains supporters within the factory after two decades and eight title-winning campaigns, but Mekies — who took over in July and initially helped reignite Max Verstappen’s title bid last season — now faces increased scrutiny over his leadership and technical direction. The situation has also heightened pressure on Verstappen, who has threatened to retire at the end of the season and has partly linked that threat to the 2026 regulations. Any decision to abandon or deeply rework the RB22 would carry major logistical and competitive consequences, and reports stress such moves remain internal discussions rather than confirmed decisions.

Ferrari has scheduled a focused April on-track program — a Mugello Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) session and a Monza filming day — explicitly to validate aerodynamic updates and energy-recovery systems, translate simulator gains into real-world feedback and keep cars and personnel race-ready ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. The activity fills a five-week gap created by the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix and, Ferrari says, is designed to secure engine gains, protect the team’s positive start to 2026 and close the straight-line speed shortfall that rivals including Lewis Hamilton have highlighted.

The first element is a two-day TPC at Mugello using last year’s SF-25 under relaxed FIA rules. Test and simulator drivers Antonio Giovinazzi, Arthur Leclerc and Antonio Fuoco are set to run the car to convert simulator data into on-track feedback and to validate setups and driver inputs. Sources differ on the exact start date — reporting either April 1-2 or beginning April 2 — but all agree the outing will be carried out by Ferrari’s test outfit rather than regular race drivers.

Ferrari will follow Mugello with additional, limited on-track work: a two-day artificial wet test at Fiorano on April 9-10 and a 200 km filming day at Monza in late April (reported as April 21 or 22). At Monza Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are expected to drive the SF-26 for up to 200 km to gather energy-recovery-system data, produce promotional footage and trial aerodynamic updates — including a revised “Macarena” wing earmarked for a Miami debut. Team statements and multiple reports describe Monza as particularly demanding for energy management under the 2026 rules, and Ferrari emphasized that all sessions will be conducted within the FIA’s TPC and filming-day limits as low-profile work to refine systems ahead of Miami.

At the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Ferrari’s straight-line speed and power-unit weakness — particularly the SF‑26’s lack of pace down the straights — were laid bare, drivers and team figures said. Charles Leclerc called the power unit “maybe our main weakness at the moment,” and Lewis Hamilton described a “really confusing” loss of power that left him struggling to defend and ultimately finish sixth. Team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged a clear straight-line deficit and said the team must investigate whether it stems from engine power, timing/strategy or overtake-mode deployment; he and others pointed to Suzuka’s long straights as having exposed the problem.

The on-track consequences were immediate. Leclerc recovered from early Safety Car misfortune and an early pit stop that left him in traffic to fight back past teammates and rivals and secure third, but said he had to manage his tires carefully and that the Safety Car had hurt the team’s strategy. Hamilton briefly gained places by pitting under the Safety Car but slipped from a podium position as he struggled to extract performance from the SF‑26 and lost places to rivals; he suspected his engine was down because others had more straight-line speed despite running the same car. Vasseur noted Hamilton had dropped out of “overtake mode,” which removed an overtake boost and contributed to the drop-off.

Ferrari plans to use the upcoming month-long break to analyze the car and seek performance improvements before Miami, focusing on the power unit and straight-line performance while also advancing tires, aero and chassis work. Leclerc warned upgrades might not arrive in time for Miami, and reports from Suzuka prompted a renewed push to close the gap — the team opened the season clearly second behind Mercedes and appeared to lose ground to McLaren — even as Leclerc’s podiums provided a morale boost and Vasseur praised the driver’s racecraft in what he called one of the season’s most entertaining races.

Mercedes’ vulnerability — recurring poor race starts compounded by an inability to cope with traffic and dirty air — was laid bare at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. Team principal Toto Wolff conceded that ‘poor starts have been a recurring issue’, calling the team’s launches ‘mediocre’ and saying a bad getaway nearly cost them in Japan; he also admitted this was the third time this season Mercedes had to recover from a slow launch.

Former drivers Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve warned the team should be concerned, with Villeneuve adding that Mercedes’ package is “vulnerable in dirty air” and needs to be in “fresh air” to be competitive, because traffic and turbulent airflow limit recovery opportunities.

The race itself illustrated the problem. Kimi Antonelli, who started on pole and later won at Suzuka to become the youngest leader of the 2026 standings, botched his own launch and dropped to sixth before a late safety car — triggered by Ollie Bearman’s crash — and a timely pit stop reshaped the running and allowed him to retake the lead. Mercedes’ recovery efforts were visible but imperfect: George Russell fought back to fourth after a setup change left his W17 uncooperative and both Mercedes drivers were hampered by traffic. Wolff both praised Antonelli’s racecraft and quipped about modern drivers learning in “automatic driving schools” while again pointing to the team’s recurring poor getaways.

The combined pattern of slow starts and an aerodynamic/flow weakness when following other cars has prompted external concern and demonstrated that other teams and drivers can threaten Mercedes on race day. Unless the team addresses clutch/launch procedure and its loss of performance in dirty air, those vulnerabilities look set to undermine Mercedes’ results going forward.