Tom Coronel shares why a slower Red Bull could be ‘good’ for Max Verstappen’s performances

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Tom Coronel thinks Red Bull starting the 2026 F1 season with an engine deficit could actually be good for Max Verstappen’s performances by bringing out his “kill factor”.

Red Bull have started a new chapter in their storied history this term by becoming an engine constructor for the first time. Former boss Christian Horner established Red Bull Powertrains after Honda initially decided to withdraw from F1, as well as sealing a partnership with Ford.

The reliability of Red Bull’s debut F1 engine during pre-season testing astounded many in F1, including George Russell of Mercedes. Russell feels Red Bull have “clearly done a good job” with their first F1 engine, with the RBPT DM01’s energy management particularly surprising.

Red Bull’s F1 engine deficit could force Max Verstappen to show his ‘bite’ in 2026

Yet Coronel expects Verstappen to face a fight to finish on the podium in the first race of the 2026 F1 season at the Australian Grand Prix on March 8. Coronel suspects the first Red Bull engine will have a power deficit to the units that the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari designed.

READ MORE: All you need to know about the 2026 F1 season, from calendar to drivers

But while Coronel is only tipping Verstappen for a fourth or fifth-place finish in Melbourne, it may be a “good thing” for the four-time champion. Coronel claims Red Bull’s power unit not being the best could unleash the “real” Verstappen by forcing him to unlock his “kill factor”.

Coronel told RacingNews365: “Perhaps it’s a good thing that the Red Bull engine isn’t quite as powerful. So, we’ll see Max around fourth or fifth place. Because when he’s hungry, and just misses out on winning, we see the real Max.

“Then we see that bite, the kill factor, that look in his eyes, that blood [and], the steam coming out everywhere. And only for one thing, the result. That’s great to watch.”

Max Verstappen’s 2025 Japanese Grand Prix pole shows Tom Coronel may be right

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Verstappen produced one of the very best performances of the 2025 F1 season at Suzuka in last year’s Japanese Grand Prix by scoring pole position and the win when the Red Bull RB21 was not the best car on the grid, as he edged McLaren’s Lando Norris by just 1.423 seconds.

Red Bull were still struggling to understand the RB21’s through-corner balance problems, yet Verstappen drove one of the greatest laps of his career to deny Norris pole by 0.012s. If Red Bull’s first engine leaves him with a disadvantage again in 2026, Coronel might well be right.

Verstappen finished pre-season testing pleased with Red Bull’s new car built to the 2026 F1 regulations. But the general consensus among the F1 paddock leaving Bahrain was that the RB22 may only be the fourth-best car on the grid, behind Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari’s.