Red Bull chief denies what Yuki Tsunoda has said about their 2026 Formula 1 car

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F1’s new 2026 regulations are approaching quickly, and all eyes are on who will emerge as the frontrunner when cars hit the track next year. Red Bull chief Mark Hazelton has already played down Yuki Tsunoda’s verdict on their competitiveness.

The calibre of each team’s power unit has been one of the biggest talking points regarding the new ruleset.

With it being one of the most crucial components of an F1 car, as well as F1’s 2026 regulations seeing the first major change to them since 2014, it’s no surprise that the topic has been debated at length.

Mercedes are understood to be in the lead of the development race thus far, according to Carlos Sainz, but without any real evidence, it’s hard to pinpoint who will emerge as having the benchmark at this moment in time.

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Red Bull chief Mark Hazelton plays down Yuki Tsunoda’s verdict of their 2026 F1 car

Red Bull are in uncharted territory at their Milton Keynes factory, due to the fact that they are developing their power unit completely in-house for the very first time.

The development is ongoing through their Red Bull Powertrains division, which has been in collaboration with the American automotive giants, Ford.

Speaking to ex-Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas, the team’s chief security officer, Mark Hazelton, played down talks regarding a verdict that Yuki Tsunoda had given to the former over the Austrian constructor’s chances.

Hazelton said, “The rumour mill is good and bad. Well, it’s quite entertaining on occasions, but I think with the current approaches, with social media and things like that, it means that so much of it is rendered irrelevant.”

Nicholas then asked, “So you’re telling me that I shouldn’t just have blind faith in Yuki when he tells me we’ve got an absolute rocket ship next year?”

Hazelton’s eyebrows were raised at the question, to which Nicholas prodded with, “Oh, maybe some inside info.”

Red Bull’s CSO then added, “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to say that we’ve got an absolute rocket ship for next year, but of course we plan to win. I’d be very disappointed if we weren’t aiming high.”

READ MORE: What Red Bull ‘head honchos’ are saying about Yuki Tsunoda’s future after unseen Mexico ‘masterstroke’

The current sentiment in the F1 paddock over Red Bull’s 2026 chances

Due to the fact that 2026 will be the Austrian constructor’s very first season as a fully-fledged works outfit, there is some hesitancy in the F1 paddock regarding their competitiveness from the very first round of the season.

Sources have suggested that Red Bull’s debut engine will be around two-tenths off the pace once the cars hit the track next March, which doesn’t bode well for the team’s hopes of retaining star driver and four-time world champion, Max Verstappen.

Paired with the fact that the Milton Keynes factory is one of the few workshops to still be pumping out upgrades for their 2025 car, many believe Red Bull’s new challenger will suffer.

It is understood that Verstappen’s future at the team depends on their pace during the opening half of the season. If it’s as poor as it’s anticipated to be, we may end up seeing the Dutchman don the colours of Mercedes sooner rather than later.