Rob Smedley Rates Red Bull 5/10 as Reliability Woes Cloud New In‑House Engine Programme

The blunt mid‑season verdict raises pressure on Red Bull to fix repeated component failures in its first season building power units internally with Ford support.

Overview

On Friday, August 7, former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley gave Red Bull a mid‑season score of five out of ten and said the team has suffered “too many basic problems.”
Red Bull began 2026 producing its own power unit for the first time with technical help from Ford, a complex shift that analysts say increases design and integration risk for the RB22 package.
Recurring faults have produced high‑profile incidents this season, including sudden rear‑wing failures that caused spins or crashes for Max Verstappen and component failures that forced retirements for Verstappen and team mate Isack Hadjar.
When the car runs reliably Verstappen has still reached the podium, but the team has not yet won a race and the package has lacked consistent pace across weekends, prompting visible frustration from drivers.
Smedley’s public critique sharpens an ongoing debate over whether Red Bull’s problems are temporary growing pains or signs of deeper structural issues and sets clear markers to watch next: reliability fixes, engine updates and whether those changes restore the team’s former dominance.