Red Bull is paying for the car's refinement in 2025.

      Last year, Red Bull Racing worked on the car until the last moment in pursuit of the title, while the other teams had long focused on 2026. Team principal Laurent Mekies stated in the Beyond The Grid podcast that he does not regret this decision…

      Laurent Mekies: “The decision to continue developing the car was not difficult – no one wanted to give up. We believed and still believe this decision was the right one. It seemed to us that simply turning the page to 2026 would be too easy a way out, a naive hope that the next year would be better, even though we had not fully dealt with the problems of 2025.

      Of course, the time and resources spent then are having an impact, and today we are paying a certain price for it. Do we consider this justified? No. We are dissatisfied with the current situation, but we are confident that we will overcome these difficulties as well. This team knows how to bounce back very, very well, and we have another chance to do it.”