Red Bull’s Radical RB22 Sidepod Design Sparks Massive Debate After Barcelona Test – Verstappen Drops Bombshell: “This Changes Everything” as Tiny Inlets and Clever Cooling Leave Rivals Stunned Ahead of 2026 Season Opener
Formula 1’s 2026 pre-season has barely begun, but Red Bull has already ignited the biggest talking point of the year.
On the opening day of private testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the Oracle Red Bull Racing RB22 rolled out with sidepods so radically narrow and air intakes so tiny they look almost impossible. The design choice – the smallest on the grid by a considerable margin – immediately sent shockwaves through the paddock, with engineers, rivals and fans asking the same question: how can this possibly work?
Max Verstappen, fresh from his first laps in the car, gave the clearest answer yet in a candid Sky Sports F1 interview after the session:
“When I first sat in it and felt the balance, I knew we had something special. The sidepods are tiny – smaller than anything we’ve ever run. Everyone’s asking ‘how is that possible?’ But it works. The cooling is managed in a completely different way. This changes everything about how we attack corners and straights. I’m excited – really excited.”
Verstappen’s words carry weight. The four-time world champion isn’t prone to hype. Yet his confidence in the RB22’s radical packaging is unmistakable. The sidepod inlets – the critical cooling openings on either side of the cockpit – are dramatically reduced compared to every other 2026 car. Mercedes runs twin side ducts, Ferrari a compromise package, McLaren large rectangular mouths. Red Bull has gone the opposite way, betting on clever airflow management to slash drag while still keeping temperatures under control.
The team’s approach relies on alternative cooling pathways:
A prominent upper inlet (the “top scoop” or airbox) positioned above the driver’s helmet, channeling air downward to critical heat exchangers. Carefully sculpted bodywork that guides airflow around the narrow sidepod profile, reducing drag while maintaining sufficient mass flow. Rear-facing “cannon” outlets that expel hot air in a way that energizes the diffuser and rear wing flow, potentially generating additional downforce while cutting drag.
Technical analysts have already nicknamed the rear exit design “cannon exhausts” – a term now circulating widely – because the hot air is directed aggressively to clean up flow over the rear of the car rather than simply dumped vertically.
Verstappen confirmed the system is delivering exactly what the team hoped:
“You can feel the car breathing. The drag is lower, the top speed is higher, but we’re not sacrificing grip. It’s a proper step forward. The other teams will have to react – and they will.”
The gamble is huge. The 2026 power units split energy delivery roughly 50/50 between internal combustion and MGU-K hybrid deployment, generating significantly more heat from the electrical components. Cooling those systems requires substantial airflow – traditionally provided by large sidepod inlets. Most teams have played it safe: bigger openings, more drag, but guaranteed reliability.
Red Bull has taken the opposite path. Smaller sidepods mean lower frontal area, less drag, higher top speed on straights and better efficiency through medium- and high-speed corners. But the trade-off is brutal. If cooling proves inadequate during race conditions – where engines and hybrids must run flat-out for nearly two hours – Red Bull risks thermal degradation, power loss, component failure, or even retirement.
Early signs from Barcelona are encouraging. Isack Hadjar set the fastest time on Day 1 and completed over 100 laps without any reported cooling issues. That alone has forced rival teams to re-evaluate their own cooling packages overnight.
Racing Bulls – Red Bull’s sister team running identical power units – has taken the opposite approach: massive sidepod inlets that look almost comically oversized next to the RB22. The visual contrast is stark and telling: even with the same engine supplier, one team is betting on extreme miniaturization while the other plays it safe.
Rival reactions have been swift and sharp. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was blunt:
“They’re pushing every limit. If it works, it’s genius. If it doesn’t, it’s a disaster. We’ll see in Melbourne.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was more cautious: “We’ve seen radical concepts before. Sometimes they win championships, sometimes they blow up on lap 3. Red Bull is Red Bull – they don’t do things by half.”
Ferrari, meanwhile, has taken a more conventional path with larger sidepod inlets. Charles Leclerc, who was fastest on Day 1 for the Scuderia, admitted: “Red Bull’s car looks very different. We’ll know more when we race them.”
The FIA is monitoring closely. While the sidepod design passed all static homologation checks, questions remain about dynamic cooling performance under race conditions. No formal protest has been lodged yet – but the paddock is watching every lap.
Verstappen ended the interview with a confident smile:
“I don’t care what the others think right now. I know what I feel in the car. This thing is quick. And it’s only going to get quicker. Bring on Australia.”
With testing running until January 30 and the season opener in Melbourne just weeks away, Red Bull’s RB22 has already rewritten the script for 2026.
Tiny sidepods. Massive ambition. And Max Verstappen believes it changes everything.
The new era starts here – and it starts fast.
