In the night from Thursday to Friday the time had finally come: Red Bull presented the new color scheme of the car of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar. The glittering blue for 2026 was well received by fans, after which the pecking order was of course discussed. What is Red Bull capable of with its own power source?
No one, including Verstappen, knows exactly yet, but the fact is that Red Bull faces an enormous challenge. The question remains whether it is realistic to compete directly with major car brands such as Mercedes and Ferrari in terms of engine power, something that will have to happen on a certain scale to keep Verstappen satisfied. The Dutchman admitted that it will be a crucial year for his future, although he will not immediately concern himself with other teams if the start of the season is a bit disappointing.
Verstappen is very busy helping Red Bull in its development. The engine was built in collaboration with Ford and the Dutchman will get a first idea of how the car and the power source behave during the winter tests in Barcelona. He can then provide direction for future updates and of course to arrive at the start as strongly as possible in Australia.
Only winning counts
But what is strong in this situation? For Red Bull, only the win counts, but it is quite possible that the racing team will first have to settle for less. There is so much to discover and learn that it would be special if Red Bull were immediately at the top without any teething problems. Hence the big question marks surrounding Verstappen’s new car, because what can we expect and what are acceptable results in the first races of the season?
Experience shows that brands with experience often get off to a good start with new regulations. Towards 2026, a lot of points were pointed at Mercedes, because they drove with a hell of an engine when the V6 power sources were introduced in 2014. The Silver Arrows dominated for years and are said to have discovered a special trick with the compression ratio. That could give Mercedes an advantage over the competition.
Team boss Laurent Mekies also decided during the presentation to make Red Bull the underdog. He said the following, among other things Viaplay. “I’d be lying if I said we’re ready. That would be a gross underestimate of the scale of the challenge. I’m not going to lie, it’s a monumental task.”
“A: for all the teams that have to deal with these big changes. And B: for us as Red Bull Racing at the start of our incredible adventure to build our own engine. It would be naive to think that we will be at the right level at the first race. We don’t expect that, so we have to run to develop our engine and car faster than the competition.”
For now it remains a matter of guessing where Red Bull stands in Melbourne. Of course, the team hopes that things will not be too bad and that Verstappen can compete reasonably at the front, but there are no guarantees. It seems more realistic that the fans of Verstappen, Hadjar and Red Bull will have to be a little more patient.
