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Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen made plenty of positive noises after his first outing in the RB22 at the behind-closed-doors shakedown in Barcelona.
Max Verstappen didn’t top the timesheet for fastest lap or distance covered, but that was always going to be unlikely given the number of changes happening behind the scenes at Red Bull.
Red Bull’s new Ford-backed power unit made its debut in Barcelona, and neither Verstappen nor the trio of other drivers using the engine appeared to have any major issues with the DM01.
However, the biggest setback came when Isack Hadjar crashed the Red Bull on Tuesday, with the Dutchman only able to return to the track on the final day of the test on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton led the way in Barcelona but the gaps were tight!
Who impressed you most in the shakedown? ⬇️
The task facing 10 of the 11 teams on the grid now is to analyse the data they collected at the Circuit de Catalunya and use it to help develop their car ahead of two more tests in Bahrain.
Red Bull are now benefiting from one of Verstappen’s many unique skills, which is helping them get their heads around one of the trickiest aspects of the 2026 regulations.
Max Verstappen’s simulation experience helping understand new 2026 hybrid power units
A report from Motorsport has shared more details about the work going on at Red Bull after their first week as a factory team.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
Red Bull didn’t appear to push the car to its limits, instead concentrating on reliability.
They couldn’t come close to Mercedes, which completed more than 500 laps and appeared to be starting their work on race and qualifying simulations, which is a step ahead of many of their rivals.
However, Red Bull appeared to be a step ahead of fellow power unit debutants Audi in Barcelona, who had teething problems on each of the three days they ran, and only had one car at their disposal to iron out any issues, whereas RBPT had two on track.
Verstappen’s ‘keen eye for fine-tuning’ is said to have already been an ‘extraordinary’ help to Red Bull.
Barcelona shakedown complete ✅ Which team has surprised you the most? 👇
Alongside this, it’s believed that his work in the simulator has helped him ‘develop a knack’ for how to best deploy the electrical power available in the hybrid power unit.
This has led to Verstappen delivering ‘valuable feedback’, and while Red Bull prioritised the softer compound tyres in Barcelona, their lack of a time comparable to Lewis Hamilton or either Mercedes driver won’t be setting off any alarm bells in Milton Keynes yet.
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Max Verstappen gives his assessment of Red Bull’s 2026 Barcelona shakedown
Red Bull have taken some aspects of their car to the ‘extreme’, but team principal Laurent Mekies will recognise that the immediate priority has to be reliability.
Verstappen is understood to have set the seventh-quickest time in Barcelona, and speaking about his experience in the car after completing more than 100 laps on the final day, he said: “The first morning I didn’t get to do too many laps with the weather basically, but today was good.
“I did a lot of laps, [and] we learned a lot. Still a lot of things that we want to look into and do better, but that’s normal, I guess.
“In general, for us with the new engine, to do the amount of laps that we did is very nice, and it’s a good start for us.
“So, yeah, positive, but it’s still very early days.
“[The engine is] still a work in progress, but I think we’ve hit the ground running quite well with those things. It’s still a very complicated formula, I think, for everyone, so there’s still quite a bit of work to do, but it’s normal.”
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