Max Verstappen will love what Sebastien Buemi has said after testing Red Bull’s 2026 car in the sim

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Red Bull are pushing ahead with plans to attack McLaren in the 2025 Formula 1 title fight, but what does that mean for 2026?

It’s going to be a critical year in Formula 1, as teams enter a new dawn in the championship. Some have been 100% focused on the 2026 F1 regulations for some time, while others have continued to push on, much like Red Bull. The last time they did it in 2021, it didn’t hurt them too much, but will it this time?

Max Verstappen won’t mind too much, because it’s giving him a great shot at winning a fifth consecutive drivers’ championship right now. But, come the season-opener in Australia next year, if his team fail to start on the front foot, there may be a different feeling.

Verstappen is a problem for McLaren, and it’s something that will only worry them further with each session that passes. Verstappen is the paddock’s title favourite after making his strong resurgence, but still trails by 40 points with five rounds to go. Are some over-optimistic?

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Sebastien Buemi is already testing Red Bull’s 2026 F1 car every Thursday in the simulator

Red Bull have copied Ferrari and their simulator-first approach to racing over the last few months, and it could end up netting them an unexpected title. No driver has even come back from more than 50 points behind to win a title, but Verstappen trailed by 104 around the summer break.

There is more than one reason for the Milton Keynes-based outfit’s ride, though. The Paddock knows why Red Bull have made progress, and have been impressed by the upgrades introduced on the RB21, which have unlocked more car performance.

Red Bull test and simulator driver Sebastien Buemi has now revealed that the team spends an entire day in the simulator, dedicated to running their 2026 car every Thursday, which will be music to Verstappen’s ears. They still have a strong focus on the new rules.

“So basically, most of my job is to be in the simulator during the race event,” he told the Talking Bull Podcast. “We call it the race support, and basically Milton Keynes in the simulator on the Thursday and the Friday.

“Thursday is mainly dedicated to next year, to new stuff coming on the car, and the Friday is really dedicated to helping the guys at the track. We’ve got only two hours [in] sessions on the Friday, so not much time to test a lot of things. In the simulator, you can drive as much as you want.”

READ MORE: Max Verstappen once admitted making an ’embarrassing’ Red Bull mistake that left Helmut Marko fuming

Sebastien Buemi admits 2026 F1 cars should produce ‘good racing’ once more

Although McLaren have an ace card against Verstappen, he doesn’t actually have much to worry about over the next few weeks.

The pressure is on his rivals because nobody expected him to challenge them, and it could bring out the deadliest version of the Dutchman. When he’s careless, he’s potent.

One of his best traits is his ability in wheel-to-wheel action – something which Buemi believes might improve with the new cars in 2026, after spending a lot of time driving them. It’s promising news for fans.

“It’s still early days,” Buemi continued. “I’ve been driving it in the simulator quite a bit. The cars are very powerful, there is a lot of energy management out there. It’s still difficult to see how that will impact the racing. The cars will normally be quite a bit slower in the corners.

“Let’s say, I’m waiting to see because now with the DRS, it’s a different kind of overtaking. Next year, you will not have that, the DRS will not work in the same way, and overtaking will be done in a different way. I think that could contribute to good racing, so we’ll see.”