Max Verstappen’s initial assessment of Red Bull’s “risk” for the 2026 F1 season has been overturned by the team, as they claimed next season’s performance looked “promising” and that they could deliver a strong car. With the evolution of regulations next year, the network should be overhauled in terms of performance and competitiveness.
Major changes to aerodynamic and engine regulations are expected to pose a unique challenge for teams. Especially for Red Bull Racing, which will no longer have an agreement with Honda as an engine supplier. The team will begin work on its own powertrains, in association with Ford. However, this will be new territory for the team, and while a big question mark hangs over their performance next year, RBR expects it to be strong.
Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache recently boosted the team’s confidence in its power units for the 2026 season, going against what Max Verstappen had said earlier. Talk to RacingNews365he claimed that the performance looked “very promising”.
“With the powertrain, it’s hard to say, but it looks very, very promising,” he said (via RN365).
However, the aerodynamic performance is still questionable.
“On the car there are new aerodynamic regulations and it’s difficult to say,” added Wache. “There’s a lot to find, it’s hard to know what other people’s ideas will be. Normally you learn a lot when you see the other car, you try to understand what everyone is doing. I hope we find a good direction, but you never know.”
Red Bull Racing had Adrian Newey until this year, whose design innovations helped him dominate the grid in two distinct eras of F1. However, he joined Aston Martin this season, and the team for the first time will run a car he did not design.
Max Verstappen expects Red Bull engines to be a ‘risk’ in 2026 F1 season
Red Bull Racing has a long history in Formula 1 as an engine customer. Their time at Honda has proven to be quite successful in recent times; However, this partnership will end at the end of this season, and the Japanese brand will then supply engines to Aston Martin during the 2026 season.
The new regulations will act as a blank canvas for the teams on the grid. The engine will be very different from the one currently used, with 50% of the power provided by electrical components.
Max Verstappen recently mentioned that this could be a “risk” for Red Bull, given their lack of expertise in the engine department.
“Next year won’t be easy, with our own engine, of course. It’s a new risk for Red Bull. But they also took that risk when they entered Formula 1, and they didn’t do badly,” said Max Verstappen.
At the same time, he believes Mercedes might be able to crack the code with a more competitive engine and will set the benchmark for the rest of the grid.
“I think Mercedes will be in the lead [in 2026]. They are still there and strong, they are at the top of the company. So I think they will be in the lead, especially when it comes to the engine. »
Max Verstappen is also expected to continue racing for Red Bull in the future. Although he has recently been linked with a move to other teams, he has a contract with the team until the 2028 season, and also later confirmed that he will continue with RBR and not leave them anytime soon.
Edited by Gunaditya Tripathi
