How Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar privately reacted to first seeing Red Bull’s 2026 F1 car

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It is wholesale changes for Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar at Red Bull as they prepare for a new era in 2026.

For Verstappen, Hadjar is one of those changes, as the Frenchman becomes his seventh different teammate since he joined the team in 2016. Together, they will embark on a new challenge in Milton Keynes under the 2026 F1 regulations.

Red Bull will become a power unit supplier for the first time in their history, collaborating with Ford to design the DMD1. It made its debut at the shakedown session in Barcelona.

Does Isack Hadjar have the right mindset for his promotion to Red Bull in 2026?

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Verstappen was not top of the timesheets during the test, nor did he set the most laps. But perhaps that was to be expected, given all the changes that have happened at Red Bull in terms of development and personnel.

With Christian Horner and Helmut Marko gone, among other key figures, team principal Laurent Mekies has been tasked with bringing stability back to Milton Keynes after a turbulent two years off the track.

Finishing third in 2025, with Verstappen losing out on his fifth title by just two points, Mekies has dramatically improved the mood at Red Bull. It sets up an exciting new era for the team in 2026, and it comes with an all-new look.

Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar were in awe of Red Bull’s 2026 livery after seeing it for the first time

Red Bull unveiled the RB22 in Detroit in January, with Verstappen, Hadjar and Mekies all present for the launch. The team have moved away from the matte designs of the last few years and returned to a glossy blue, similar to the cars driven by Sebastian Vettel in the early 2010s.

Verstappen had called for Red Bull to change their livery in the past, expressing his love of Vettel’s old paintwork and designs. The Dutchman will get his wish in 2026.

What are your thoughts on Red Bull’s first new livery since 2016?

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In a behind-the-scenes video on Red Bull’s official YouTube channel, Verstappen and Hadjar privately took the cover off the RB22 before the launch to catch a glimpse of the car for the first time.

“Yeah, just a quick look,” Verstappen can be heard saying. After lifting the cover, he said: “Oh, I like it, that’s actually very nice.

He then tells Hadjar: “That’s actually very nice. This blue is very nice,” before the Frenchman expressed his excitement about the car: “It’s fast. It is fast. It’s the gloss, by night it’s going to be sick.”

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Where do Red Bull currently stand ahead of 2026?

Given the changes happening at Red Bull in 2026, many will be looking closely at the team this season to see if their ambitious project is a success.

The Milton Keynes outfit suffered very few setbacks in Barcelona, besides Isack Hadjar’s crash into the barriers at the final corner on Tuesday. Red Bull displayed strong reliability during the test, which came as a surprise to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.

Given the new power unit, it might have been expected that Red Bull would encounter problems, but that did not prove the case. However, the Barcelona shakedown should not determine the pecking order, as most teams would not have been running at full speed.

With that said, the team are definitely in a good position, or at least better than some may have expected. They could be even stronger with the rumoured engine loophole in the regulations, although Red Bull insiders ‘strongly deny’ the rumours that they have exploited this with Mercedes.