Red Bull Sees Bahrain, Saudi GP Cancellations as a Setback

Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar has stated that the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix is a "disadvantage" for the team, as it loses valuable track time to develop its new power unit and close the performance gap to rivals like Mercedes and Ferrari. This comes amidst a challenging start to the season for the reigning champions, who have struggled with reliability despite showing promise in pre-season testing.

Why it matters:

For Red Bull Powertrains, embarking on its first season as a full constructor (OEM) with Ford, every lap of data is critical. The lost race weekends represent missed opportunities to gather real-world performance data and accelerate development on its new power unit, which is seen as key to returning to the front of the grid after a difficult opening phase.

The details:

• Driver Isack Hadjar explicitly called the race cancellations a "disadvantage," arguing that "the more racing, the more we understand — and the closer we get to the best engines on the grid."
• The team's RB22 has shown flashes of competitiveness but has been plagued by reliability issues, with both Hadjar and teammate Max Verstappen suffering power unit-related problems in the early races.
• The pre-season test in Bahrain, which had some positive signs, ultimately proved to be a "false dawn" for the car's race pace and consistency.
• In contrast to Red Bull's view, drivers from other teams like Oscar Piastri and Alex Albon have pointed to a potential silver lining: the extended break provides more time for development and upgrades outside of the intense race weekend schedule.

What's next:

The extended hiatus forces Red Bull to rely more heavily on simulation and factory-based development to solve its power unit and reliability challenges. Hadjar acknowledged this trade-off, noting the break means "fewer points lost to everyone else" in the short term, but the long-term development penalty could be significant. The pressure will be on to arrive at the next race with tangible improvements to begin recovering lost ground in the championship.