Red Bull 'clearly made a step' with Miami upgrades, says Hadjar

Red Bull Racing appears to have found a direction with its major Miami upgrade package, according to driver Isack Hadjar. Despite a frustrating weekend that ended with a crash on Sunday, the Frenchman says the car's underlying performance took a clear step forward — with Max Verstappen's fight near the front offering proof.

Why it matters:

After several races of struggling to match McLaren and Mercedes, Red Bull needed a performance breakthrough to stay in the championship hunt. The Miami upgrades, if confirmed as a genuine step, could reshape the competitive order as the season moves toward its European phase.

The details:

• Hadjar's assessment: The rookie told GPblog: "Clearly the car made a step. I'm happy they found something." He noted that despite his own struggles to put a clean weekend together, he felt faster than in the previous two events.
• Verstappen's evidence: The reigning champion qualified on the front row, spun at the start, yet still recovered to fifth on an alternative strategy — a result that suggests genuine race pace improvement.
• Top speed concern: Hadjar flagged that the RB22 still lacks straight-line speed, an issue that hurt him in Miami. "We need to make sure next weekend we get on with it," he said, adding that Montreal's layout should suit the car better.
• Progress on fixes: The team worked through setup issues from Friday to Sunday, and Hadjar confirmed they are "moving in the right direction."

What's next:

Red Bull heads to Montreal hoping the track characteristics will amplify the gains from Miami. If the upgrade package proves effective on different circuits, the team could close the gap to the frontrunners. Hadjar remains cautious but optimistic: "I expect something similar to this weekend" — though with fewer mistakes.