Max Verstappen and Red Bull will feel the effects of an F1 brain drain soon despite 2026 staff boost

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The Red Bull team enters 2026 with a whole host of unknowns and plenty of new challenges to cope with.

For the first time in their 21-year existence, they will be bringing their own power units. There will be no help, and they are relying on the foundations laid by Red Bull Powertrains over the last few years.

It’s a bit of an uncertain period for Max Verstappen, but with the 2026 F1 regulations coming into force, it will be for all his rivals, too.

He should know quite soon into testing whether a drivers’ championship push may be on the cards over the next 12 months, or whether his team have a lot of work to do to catch up.

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Sergio Perez has nailed Verstappen’s only downside, which may be a bit of a worry for Red Bull this season. When the going gets tough, he finds it difficult to cope.

Red Bull are ‘convinced’ Verstappen needs a race-ready car at testing to help them gather the most effective data. When they arrive in Melbourne for round one, it will give them some assistance.

READ MORE: David Coulthard explains why he now rates Max Verstappen as a better F1 champion than Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen will feel the effects of Red Bull’s brain drain soon despite Gianpiero Lambiase boost

Verstappen has a ‘great bond’ with Gianpiero Lambiase, his race engineer, who was linked with potential openings at Aston Martin and Williams just a few weeks ago.

Fortunately for the Dutchman, it has been confirmed that he is under contract until 2027, and therefore will be with him for the upcoming campaign. It’s a major boost to his hopes.

But what cannot be ignored is the mass exodus of other key figures within the team over the last 18 or so months.

First it was Will Courtenay, then it was Adrian Newey. In 2025, it was Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, and multiple other key figures were confirmed to be leaving just a few months ago, too.

Three of Verstappen’s permanent engineers have left or will leave soon (David Mart, Michael Manning, and Tom Hart), and Lambiase could still be on his way out at some stage.

It’s hard to replace that sort of experience and familiarity within the system, leaving a big hole in Red Bull’s race weekend operations. That brain drain could catch up to them soon and leave them battling a deficit compared to their rivals.

READ MORE: F1 fans have made an early prediction for who they think will win the 2026 championship

How Red Bull showed a glimmer of hope during the 2025 Formula 1 season

Although they ultimately failed in their goal to win the drivers’ title last year, by the slender margin of two points, they did recover 102 points of a 104 deficit after the Dutch Grand Prix.

They out-developed their rivals and made a bit of a statement. For a long while, they had looked lost with their car, but went on to prove that they still know what they’re doing.

That will give them a lot of confidence in 2026, which is bound to be a year with much more intense and important development, with a lot of room for interpretation and error with the new cars.

Now, they’ll back themselves to do a better job of developing their new car in the hope that it keeps them in the title fight well into the back end of the season. They’ve just proven that at the factory, at least, they still have the right personnel.