Red Bull has a clear mission: take at least one Grand Prix victory before the season closes, as Motorsport.com Italia reports. For Max Verstappen, going a year without a win is completely uncharted territory. In his ten years racing for the team from Milton Keynes, the four-time world champion has always secured at least one triumph, leaving him uncomfortably dry so far this campaign.
That drought nearly ended at Baku. The Dutchman hunted down the winner George Russell in a stunning finish, crossing the line just 196 milliseconds behind. While two safety cars certainly helped close the gap, it was a clear sign that the machine engineered under Pierre Waché has found its teeth again. Nobody ever doubted the driver's capability; it was simply the car's limitations holding him back from fighting Mercedes on equal terms. Now, the hefty upgrade package introduced in Azerbaijan has given the RB22 a genuine step forward, and Sepang is the immediate test to confirm if the team has finally unlocked the correct development path.
To build on those Azerbaijani upgrades, Red Bull brought a brand-new bargeboard to Sepang designed to squeeze even more performance out of the RB22. The squad from Milton Keynes shifted toward a high-downloader style bargeboard heavily resembling the design seen on the Ferrari SF-26. They boosted the out-wash effect by introducing three vertical elements—or two and a half, to be precise. The innermost of the two vertical flaps reaching the maximum legal height now features a third element, a clever fin attached to the central one via a metal support. The goal is simple and aggressive: shove the turbulent air coming off the front wheels away from the bodywork to ramp up overall aerodynamic efficiency.
Initial feedback has been encouraging, even if the track conditions offered low grip and scorching asphalt temperatures that totally messed with simulation predictions. During FP2, Isack Hadjar hooked up the soft tyres to snatch second place just 99 milliseconds behind Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, planted his machine fourth and two and a half tenths back, refusing to run anything other than the medium compound. He focused strictly on long-run race pace, guarding against a rainstorm that ultimately never arrived. Come morning, the Dutchman climbed to second with the Frenchman right behind him, making the RB22 machines the only cars alongside the Mercedes leader Kimi Antonelli to break the 1'37" barrier.
Despite the weird track conditions, the engineering crew gathered data that feeds real optimism inside the garage directed by Laurent Mekies. The beast from Milton Keynes is finally behaving, and the hunt for that elusive win is officially on.
