Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is feeling “great” about the team’s potential after the conclusion of the first 2026 F1 pre-season test.
This week has seen F1 conduct a private pre-season test in Barcelona, Spain, in which everyone could only run on three selected days across the five-day test, with Red Bull having ran on Monday with new signing – Isack Hadjar before both he and Verstappen shared driver duties on Tuesday.
The team subsequently returned for the final day of running with just Verstappen behind the wheel as the Dutchman set the unofficial fifth fastest lap of the day, which was reportedly topped by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen post-test reflected on the differences between his two days of running after rain impacted Tuesday’s action, as he noted that the team had learned a lot and want to improve on for the second pre-season test in Sakhir, Bahrain from 11-13 February.
“We did a lot of laps today and that was really the key, we learned a lot and there are, of course, still a lot of things that we want to look into but it’s a good start.”
This season will mark the first time that Red Bull are racing under their own powertrain in partnership with Ford and Verstappen was pleased with the power unit’s performance.
“So much work has gone into this power unit over the last few years and to see it then go into the car and on the first day, immediately do so many laps was great to see. There were a lot of emotional faces in the garage and that was very special.”
Verstappen however was quick to quieten any hype as he iterated that the car and power unit are still in developmental stages, so nobody should be getting too carried away.
Everything is still a work in progress but we have hit the ground running quite well. We need time to understand the engine and make set up changes, you try to put as many laps on the board and try as many things as you can in the day. I think we are doing that and this is what this Shakedown was about and what we will continue to do.
“It is a complicated formula for everyone to get right, which means there is still a lot of work to do before we head to Bahrain. We will go again there and keep the work going.”
Hadjar Happy with “very productive” Test
Hadjar meanwhile enjoyed a solid debut pre-season test with the team following his promotion from Racing Bulls, and was pleased with his productivity despite a final corner crash in wet conditions on Tuesday.
“It was very productive and we managed to do a lot more laps than we had expected, everything went pretty smooth and we had only minor issues. It was quite impressive considering it was our first day with our own power unit.
“Unfortunately, on Tuesday, just after switching from wets to inters, I lost control of the car in the final corner and I know the aftermath wasn’t ideal for the Team.
Hadjar however was happy with his understanding and development on the car but found that the new regulations made the car easier to drive and have fun with.
“The positive is that I have already started to understand and work on things in the car, there are still a lot of things to tweak of course, but it has been steady so far.
“These cars are different, very different, there is definitely a lot less load in general and it is a bit more predictable compared to the previous generation, they are a bit more straightforward. It is easier to play around with them and on the PU side there are a lot more options for the driver to play with.
“I couldn’t have prepared for this season any better and I am hoping to come into the year strongly, but we are definitely not done with the work yet, I am learning every day.”
Leave a Reply