McLaren CEO Zak Brown wishes he did not see what Red Bull did at the Barcelona shakedown test

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McLaren CEO Zak Brown expects the same four teams will be the best under F1’s 2026 regulations, after judging Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari at the Barcelona shakedown.

Formula 1 has entered a new era in 2026 with the introduction of new engine, aero, chassis and tyre rules. The 2026 F1 regulations mark the biggest regulatory overhaul in history, due largely to the new engines with a near 50/50 split between electric and combustion power.

The breadth of the new rules had the potential to reorder the grid after years with McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari largely being the teams to beat. Yet after the first pre-season test in Barcelona, the F1 paddock only views McLaren as a real threat to Mercedes in 2026.

Many have predicted for a long time that Mercedes will build the best engine under the new regulations, which also removed the MGU-H and presented advanced sustainable fuels. And there are fears among rival teams that Mercedes found a loophole in F1’s 2026 engine rules.

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McLaren CEO Zak Brown was reluctantly “impressed” by Red Bull’s 2026 F1 rules engine

In contrast, many had expected Red Bull would start the 2026 F1 season on the back foot as they have now become an engine constructor for the first time. Former team boss Christian Horner established Red Bull Powertrains when Honda initially decided to withdraw from F1.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and aero regulations

Yet despite the initial fears about the first RBPT DM01 engines built in partnership with Ford, McLaren CEO Brown was reluctantly “impressed” by the immediate reliability that Red Bull’s power unit showed in Barcelona. Brown even rues the competitiveness of Red Bull’s engine.

“It kind of looks like the usual suspects, but it is hard to tell in what order,” Brown said, via quotes by RacingNews365. “The Red Bull engine was very strong.

“I think everyone was pleasantly surprised. I’d rather them not be as competitive, but I’m impressed with what they’ve done because they came out, they did a lot of miles and they seem to be very competitive.”

Zak Brown expects McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari will lead F1 again in 2026

What would make a good season for Red Bull in 2026?

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Red Bull are still working on the drivability of their 2026 F1 rules engine following the test in Barcelona, where reliability was the top concern for every team. But the early signs suggest Red Bull will be among the front-running teams with McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari again.

The quartet were the class of the field during the 2025 F1 season, with McLaren securing 34 podiums, Red Bull taking 15, Mercedes reaching 12 and Ferrari getting seven from a possible 72. The remaining four rostrums went the way of Williams (2), Sauber and Racing Bulls (1).

McLaren (14), Red Bull (8) and Mercedes (2) even accounted for all 24 Grand Prix wins in the final year of F1’s latest ground-effect era. Also, McLaren won the 2025 F1 constructors’ title at the Singapore Grand Prix with six rounds to spare, to match Red Bull’s record set in 2023.

The Woking natives ultimately finished last year with a 364-point lead over Mercedes in the constructors’ standings, as Lando Norris also won the F1 drivers’ championship for the first time. Red Bull and Ferrari were third and fourth with 382 and 435-point deficits to McLaren.