Explained: Why F1 break could hurt Red Bull more than its rivals

Formula 1’s unexpected break in April could place Red Bull at a “disadvantage” compared to its rivals.

The cancellation of a Middle Eastern double-header in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the Iran war has left a five-week gap in the 2026 F1 calendar between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and the Miami Grand Prix on 3 May.

Red Bull has struggled at the start of F1’s new era of regulations and has been beset by performance and reliability woes which have left it fifth in the constructors’ championship on just 12 points after the opening two races.

This weekend’s third round at Suzuka will mark the last race before F1 enters an unplanned hiatus. For some teams like Aston Martin and Williams, the break offers a welcome opportunity to address issues following a tough start.

But Isack Hadjar reckons the loss of two races - and with it the opportunity to learn more about its brand new power unit - could be detrimental to Red Bull’s prospects. 

“The more racing the more we understand, the closer we get to the best engines on the grid,” the 21-year-old Frenchman explained.

“On that side it's definitely a bit of a disadvantage for us, but it's fine.”

When it was put to Hadjar that the break gives Red Bull a chance to focus on upgrades for later in the season, he responded: “Yes, and fewer points lost to everyone else, for sure.”

Max Verstappen, who was forced to retire in China with an ERS cooling issue, pointed out that Red Bull’s rivals have just as much time to develop upgrades.

“After Japan, of course you have a few extra weeks to put a bit more performance on the car, but at the same time others also put performance, right?” Verstappen said.

“It's really not where we want to be. I know everyone is of course trying their best and I think they are as frustrated with it as me, within the team. We of course want to be better, and hopefully we already can be a little bit better in Japan.”

Red Bull ‘not worried’ by huge gap to Mercedes

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies stressed his side is not “worried” by its current deficit to current F1 benchmark Mercedes.

Mercedes has lived up to its pre-season favourite tag by dominating the start of the campaign, racking up grand prix victories in both Australia and China, as well as the Shanghai sprint race.

“I’m not sure if worried is the right word. It’s large, no question. It didn’t really come as a surprise,” Mekies insisted.

“Somehow, we were expecting them to be very, very strong as the pre-season test built up, even though it was not immediately visible at the test. So, not a surprise that it’s large.”

Mekies anticipates that the competitive order will change dramatically during what is expected to be an intense development war throughout the season.

“On the other hand, we expect the season to be very long. We expect the development rate to be much higher than what we have seen in the past,” he added.

“Of course, it’s always going to be difficult to get a second back, because obviously they will improve as well, but nobody is giving up here, and yeah, that is the fight we are in.”