F1TECH: How has Red Bull upgraded its RB22 at its home race in Spielberg?

Red Bull Racing has arrived at its home race in Spielberg with its most comprehensive development step of the season, unveiling a heavily revised RB22 aimed at closing the gap to the front and addressing both aerodynamic efficiency and reliability concerns.

The package—spanning the floor, sidepods, engine cover, rear suspension, rear wing and exhaust—represents a coordinated re‑optimisation of the car’s airflow structures, with several elements directly interconnected.

The RB22 features a revised sidepod inlet, now extending downwards and rearwards, reshaped to capture higher‑pressure airflow for the radiators after upstream changes altered the inlet’s operating conditions.

"Optimised following earlier changes upstream the sidepod inlet has been re-profiled and re-positioned to capture air with good enough pressure for the radiators. This led to re-profiling to meet the floor," explained Red Bull.

This required a corresponding engine cover redesign, with the sidepod panels and cooling louvres re‑optimised to match the new inlet geometry and the updated floor junction.

"Having altered the inlet, the consequence was then to re-optimise the sidepod profiles simultaneously matching the updated floor at the junction line. Minor changes to the central engine cover and cooling louvres," noted the Austrian-British team.

The floor has undergone subtle but wide‑ranging surface revisions, including the forward section and the junction with the top bodywork. These updates aim to generate more local aerodynamic load and improve the quality of airflow feeding the sidepods and rear of the car.

The floor board has also been reprofiled, with updated louvre and support geometry to enhance downstream flow conditioning.

This aligns with Red Bull’s broader aerodynamic objective: stabilising the platform and improving load consistency through medium‑ and high‑speed corners.

As for the tweaks to the floor, Red Bull noted: "A further iteration of optimisation to compliment the new sidepod inlet, extending to the forward floor and then to the sidepod all to generate more local load and extract performance."

At the back of the car, the rear suspension fairings have been reshaped to better match the updated upstream flow, improving stability and extracting additional local load.

"Revisions to the fairings to better match the upstream conditions and maintain flow stability whilst extracting more local load," explained the Milton Keynes-based outift.

The rear corner bodywork has been revised accordingly, particularly inboard of the rear wheels, to maintain tidy surfaces and preserve flow stability around the wheel bodywork.

The rear wing now features revised pylon profiles, addressing the sensitive interface where the pylons meet the underside of the mainplane—a regulated contact point. The goal is to stabilise this junction and extract more load without compromising flow stability.

"Given the pylons now by regulation contact the mainplane underside, the interface is sensitive and revised with pylon changes to the same element profiles seeking to extract more load and at least maintain flow stability."

The exhaust tailpipe has been subtly repositioned to increase the overlap between the exit profile and the permitted support bracket, enabling the team to harness additional local aerodynamic load from this interaction.

This seven‑part upgrade package arrives at a pivotal moment. Red Bull has struggled to match Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren in the early phase of the 2026 season, with the RB22’s weight and aerodynamic inconsistency repeatedly highlighted as limiting factors.

The team has already halved its early‑season 12‑kg overweight deficit, and the Austrian package continues this weight‑reduction trajectory while simultaneously addressing airflow weaknesses.

Team principal Laurent Mekies has described Austria as a key step in Red Bull’s recovery path, while Max Verstappen has emphasised the importance of steady, incremental gains to rejoin the fight at the front.