Lando Norris
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Red Bull have certainly made a statement with the RB22 heading into the 2026 Formula 1 season, and they are looking good with development, including with their energy recovery system.
The Milton Keynes outfit are supplying their own engines for the first time in their history, and they have already caught the attention of their rivals.
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McLaren CEO Zak Brown was ‘pleasantly surprised’ by Red Bull and how reliable their car was during the Barcelona shakedown at the end of January.
Many people had anticipated a difficult start for Laurent Mekies and his team, but Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar have given Red Bull reason to be excited about their chances for the 2026 season.
Simon Lazenby says Red Bull look ‘unbelievable’ and have the best ERS in 2026
Speaking via Rolling Stone | The American F1 Podcast, presenter and journalist Simon Lazenby waxed lyrical about Red Bull’s car during the Bahrain test. He thinks that the team have the best energy recovery system in 2026.
“They’re looking unbelievable, they really are looking like they’ve got the best energy recovery system of the lot. We know how hugely important that is,” he said.
“That’s one thing that also emerged from testing is that nobody wants to give themselves the favourites tag, right? But you do have to come back and say, if you’re Christian Horner and you’re looking from outside to in now after getting the sack, this was his baby.
“He wanted to be a works team with a works engine. And he made some unbelievable hires. There was a brain drain from HPP, right, from Mercedes HPP across to Red Bull Powertrains.
“Think of Ben Hodgkinson, who’s the head of sort of mechanical engineering. He was at HPP, he’s gone over there and he was aware of this little trick that Mercedes were doing with the engine, with the compression ratio for example.
“And they’ve applied it. They’re using that knowledge. They built a great team and those with prior knowledge of what it took to win, to apply to the 2026 set of regulations.
“And if you’re Max Verstappen, you might be thinking that the car at the moment is not how you’d like to drive it, but I guarantee you if he wins in Australia, he might change his mind.”
READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
Max Verstappen is not at all pleased with the 2026 F1 regulations
Red Bull are showing hugely encouraging signs ahead of the 2026 season. But even with this positivity, their star driver is not at all impressed or comfortable with the regulation changes.
Verstappen referred to the 2026 cars as like ‘Formula E on steroids. Many drivers had expressed concern over the new regulations, but after actually driving the cars, those worries have been vindicated.
Have the 2026 regulations made F1 worse, with Max Verstappen likening driving the new cars to Formula E?
Verstappen’s comments have ‘highly agitated’ the FIA, as they are looking to grow the sport’s audience and commercial value.
But the Dutchman is not alone, as Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have openly criticised the new regulations. Red Bull’s data show they have the best handling heading into 2026, and if they can translate that into performance in Australia, then Verstappen and Hadjar have little reason to complain.
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