Naomi Schiff warns Red Bull over "knife's edge" F1 car after US GP struggles

Broadcaster Naomi Schiff has warned that Red Bull's narrow set-up window could be compromising Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar's 2026 Formula 1 campaigns.

At the United States Grand Prix, both drivers' races were derailed in the opening stages. Hadjar suffered a launch issue that prompted him to demand a clutch redesign, while Verstappen lacked electrical deployment out of Turn 1, which instantly dropped him into a race-long battle with the Ferraris.

Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, Schiff argued that the problems at the start of the race are indicative of wider issues for the Milton Keynes outfit.

"It was such a shame that they both didn't get off the line there because it was a battle we were looking forward to between Max and Kimi, but then also Isack being in there could have really caused a little bit of an upset and potentially, who knows, clinched his first victory in Formula 1," Schiff said.

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

"But that Red Bull this whole weekend, it just feels like there's, besides the clutch, there's a lot that needs to be looked at. It feels like there's really not a very big operational window that works with that car, and that it's really on a knife's edge, as it has been for a number of years now.

"I guess it was more of a damage limitation race for them from the get-go today. And Max admitting at the end that maybe the strategy call that they had from the beginning wasn't right.

"We heard him over the radio being pretty passionate as well about them sending him back out into dirty air and maybe not optimising the strategy that they ended up having to go with. But that car just doesn't seem to be very easy to drive for either of those drivers at the moment."

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