Why Max Verstappen is privately ‘pleased’ with Red Bull’s 2026 F1 car despite Mercedes advantage

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Max Verstappen will not be the favourite to win the 2026 Australian Grand Prix based on pre-season testing alone.

After coming so close to winning a fifth straight drivers’ championship last year, Max Verstappen is dealing with Formula 1’s regulations reset better than most.

There were so many question marks over Red Bull’s 2026 car before testing started, including their first in-house power unit making its debut on track.

Verstappen immediately demonstrated a new skill on the first day of testing, dropping down into first gear to help recharge the battery element of his power unit.

The rest of the grid has tried to copy him, with Ferrari struggling to drop into first gear, but even after Verstappen demonstrated that he’s arguably the most skilled driver on the grid, many believe Mercedes are the team to beat heading to Melbourne.

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Max Verstappen privately ‘pleased’ with Red Bull performance after Bahrain testing

Bahrain testing quickly showed that the four teams who established themselves at the top of the pecking order last year remain the manufacturers to beat despite the rule changes.

Red Bull being among that group is incredibly impressive when you consider the amount of staff turnover in the past 24 months, as well as the creation of a brand-new power unit, built with the help of Ford.

Many Honda engineers joined Red Bull in the interim between the project being shut down in Japan and then re-emerging when Aston Martin approached them, leaving Adrian Newey’s team at the back of the grid.

A report from ESPN has shared more details about Red Bull’s testing progress.

Although Isack Hadjar missed out on some running, and Racing Bulls faced some reliability issues with their new engine, Verstappen’s test was largely undisrupted.

ESPN’s ‘sources’ suggest that Verstappen is ‘pleased’ with the RB22, which should give team principal Laurent Mekies confidence that he’s not going to go anywhere in the immediate future.

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The team believe that the DM01, the team’s name for the new engine, is ‘in a decent place’, especially when considering Honda’s struggles.

Red Bull know that all they need to do is give Verstappen a car that’s roughly near the front of the field, and he’ll do the rest.

The likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren would have hoped Red Bull would be a step or two behind where they are now before factoring in the Verstappen advantage.

However, he already looks in contention to challenge for another title, even though Mercedes and Ferrari are the teams to beat.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Max Verstappen gives his verdict on 2026 Bahrain pre-season testing

Red Bull only managed to complete the seventh-most laps during week two of testing in Bahrain.

However, Racing Bulls were second when it came to distance covered, giving Mekies and his team plenty of crucial power unit data.

Verstappen has had to adapt his driving style to suit the 2026 F1 cars, but his experience in sim racing and other series should give him another advantage over many of his rivals in that regard.

Reflecting on his two weeks in Bahrain before the season starts in his official post-test debrief, Verstappen said: “This week has been a good start. For my runs in the car, we’ve basically completed the full programme, so that was good, as we have plenty of data to go over and analyse.

“Going into Bahrain testing, I think we prepared as well as we could, and the Team have done a great job to get to where we are.

“I think it is quite obvious, of course, that there is still quite a bit of work to do for us to be faster, so this is something we will be working on.

“Let’s see what we get in Melbourne: it will be great to be back racing, but we still have to work hard.”