Reporting note: this article draws on Sky Sports; PGLive provides the summary and editorial framing.
Mercedes Closing On Championship Double
Red Bull resurgence has added to Toto Wolff's expectation of a full-on fight at the front of Formula 1 into 2027, with Mercedes closing on a world championship double. Kimi Antonelli can clinch the drivers' title as early as this weekend's United States Grand Prix if results go his way. Mercedes built its challenge on a flying start to the first season of the sport's new regulation era, taking eight wins from the campaign's first 10 rounds.
Their win rate has slowed since then, with three victories in the last seven races. Ferrari, McLaren and latterly Red Bull have all shown the ability to challenge the Silver Arrows on race weekends. Red Bull in particular began the season lagging behind the leading pace, but Max Verstappen has now won the last two races.
Red Bull resurgence draws Wolff praise
Wolff said he was impressed by Red Bull's turnaround after Verstappen's dominant victory in Singapore. "I really think that you need to take your hat off to what Red Bull has done this season," Wolff said. "How they have developed the car and how it's all come together as a package and then you put Max Verstappen in the car and he feels a thing that wants it to drive, then these are the results."
Wolff also called Verstappen "by far the quickest guy" in Singapore and "the quickest guy in Kuala Lumpur". He said Mercedes would see whether its upgrade starts to work and lands in the place it should, adding: "One thing is for sure, next year, it's a full-on fight between the teams and Red Bull is part of that."
Red Bull Power Unit And Development Focus
Wolff believes Red Bull's power unit, the first in the team's history, has been performing strongly. "I haven't seen the data yet from Singapore, but you can't see that it's lagging," he said. "They have done it well. The ICE seems to be very competitive. Obviously, you can see that with the ADUO [ranking, which Red Bull have found to be leading] but also in terms of energy recovery and energy deployment, they're pretty good."
Red Bull's RB22 car gained performance and stability from a significant aerodynamic upgrade at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last month. That update was the team's final one of note this season, with development focus now on the 2027 car. Team boss Laurent Mekies said the recent "pecking order could very rapidly change if some or many of our competitors bring upgrades", while adding there is still much to learn and improve with the existing package.
Mekies said: "There will be no other substantial upgrade to the car. Don't get me wrong, it does not mean that we will not continue to push very hard to improve, continue to push very hard to use every remaining race to learn for this year and to learn for next year." He added that the development programme will not change and that Red Bull have put their focus on 2027.
Mekies also congratulated Pierre Wache's team and Ben Hodgkinson's team for the work at Milton Keynes that put Red Bull in a position to fight for wins on different tracks. He said even on a weekend with two poles and two wins in Singapore, the team is honest about things it would like to see better done.
Austin Test And 2027 Outlook
Red Bull now head to Austin's Circuit of the Americas chasing a third win in succession this weekend. Their late-season bid to overhaul McLaren for third in the Constructors' Championship continues with six rounds left. The United States Grand Prix is live on Sky Sports F1, with every session available from Friday evening.
What to watch in Austin is whether Red Bull can sustain their winning form to the end of 2026, and whether Mercedes' upgrade delivers the competitiveness Wolff hopes for. Mekies has warned that the pecking order could shift quickly if rivals bring upgrades, even though Red Bull's own substantial development has stopped. The bigger picture is already fixed: Wolff expects Red Bull to be part of a full-on fight between the teams next year.
The original report is by skysports.com.
