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Heading into 2026, Red Bull were a team everyone had their eyes on as they became a power unit supplier. After seeing it in action, rival teams are unanimous in their verdict.
The Milton Keynes outfit knew they had a mammoth task ahead of them with Red Bull Powertrains and Ford over the winter. But Laurent Mekies’ team did a stellar job of rolling out the engine in pre-season, and it turned heads in the paddock.
What’s gone wrong for Red Bull?
Zak Brown admitted he was surprised by Red Bull and the power unit’s reliability over the winter. Ironically, it is now reliability that they are struggling with, among other things, heading into the Japanese Grand Prix.
Red Bull have only had one car finish the opening two races, with Isack Hadjar stopping early on in Australia. Max Verstappen retired with an ERS issue in China before issuing another scathing attack on the 2026 regulations, which he is not fond of at all.
Rival F1 teams agree that Red Bull’s power unit is ‘pretty strong’
Red Bull are currently behind Haas in the constructors’ championship ahead of the race at Suzuka. But their rivals seem to think the foundations are there for them to be competitive, as Karun Chandhok shared on Thursday.
Speaking on Sky F1’s Paddock Uncut with pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz, Chandhok revealed he had been chatting to rival teams, and they agreed that Red Bull’s engine was actually ‘pretty strong’.
“It’s funny, just talking to a couple of other teams here, they tend to agree,” he said. “They think, actually, the power unit is pretty strong, and I think, again, it feels a bit like last year, Ted doesn’t it?
“Last year, the Racing Bulls chassis looked like an easier car to drive almost. The Red Bull drivers, Max was really having to ring it to get a lap time.
“I mean here his pole lap was extraordinary last year, wasn’t it? So yeah, it does seem like they’ve got work to do all around. I’m not surprised he’s not particularly happy.”
READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
Red Bull may have bigger problems than the car at the Japanese Grand Prix
Getting both RB22s to the chequered flag will surely be one of Red Bull’s main priorities in Japan. But Thursday highlighted that they may have a bigger problem on their hands, and it lies with their star driver.
Verstappen kicked out a journalist during his media session at Suzuka, with the spat being over a question the reporter had asked him about his incident with George Russell in Barcelona last year.
Was Max Verstappen right to kick out a reporter during his press conference?
Last year, the reporter asked Verstappen if his Spanish GP move on George Russell cost him the title.
The Dutchman’s antics should be raising alarm bells for Red Bull, as he is clearly angry and not in the right mindset in 2026. Verstappen has verbally bashed the regulations several times this year, and his bizarre outburst in Japan only adds to his discontent.
Verstappen is in the ‘same boat’ as Lewis Hamilton, in that he is now struggling with the car as the Brit did with Ferrari in 2025. Whether he can recover his form with a ruleset he despises is another question.
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