Max Verstappen Exposes 2026 Red Bull Cars Major Weakness

Max Verstappen has revealed the weakness of Red Bull's RB22 challenger as they develop their own power units for the 2026 regulations.

Max Verstappen Exposes 2026 Red Bull Cars Major Weakness

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

In Short
  • Max Verstappen acknowledges Red Bull's challenges in developing their own power unit for the 2026 F1 season.
  • He emphasizes the complexity of the new regulations and the need for ongoing improvements, particularly regarding engine performance.
  • Verstappen points out that temperature management is crucial for enhancing engine performance and that Red Bull can make progress in this area.

The 2026 F1 regulations will introduce a completely new challenge for all the teams and drivers. Amongst others, Red Bull could face the biggest challenge. Milton Keynes will develop their own in-house power unit in collaboration with Ford. As such, following early indicators, Max Verstappen has opened up on the major weaknesses of the RB22 challenger of the 2026 season.

Max Verstappen is not sugarcoating the situation and is accepting the reality at hand. The Dutchman is aware that developing their engines is certainly a big task, even for Red Bull. Despite running in Formula 1 for over two decades now, the team will still face problems in developing its power units. Hence, after the pre-season testing, Verstappen has managed expectations going into the first race of the 2026 season.

Speaking on Red Bull’s chances to succeed, Max Verstappen accepted that they might not compete for victory from the get-go. However, the Dutchman reckoned that it was already understood that the team wouldn’t dominate the regulations from the very beginning. Verstappen joked that Milton Keynes guessed the engine would blow up during pre-season testing, which thankfully it didn’t.

At this moment, I don’t think we’ll be competing for victory. But you also have to be realistic: that wasn’t our expectation at the start of these regulations with our own engine. I don’t think they expected it either — they probably thought the engine would simply blow up, in that respect, we’ve done a superb job and have things well under control. We can definitely be proud of that.

Max Verstappen said, as reported by RacingNews365.

Further, Max Verstappen insisted that there were many things that needed to be fine-tuned, especially within the engine. The four-time champion added that the regulations were so complex that there was always room for improvement. Verstappen refused to go into extreme details of the things that needed to be worked on by Red Bull, but there are certainly many things up there.

There are many things you need to fine-tune, including with the engine, the regulations are so complex that there’s always something you can improve. We’re obviously working very hard on that. I can’t go into detail about exactly what we’re doing, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

Max Verstappen added.

Max Verstappen reveals areas where Red Bull can ‘take a step forward’

A majority of the teams will take in great learning from the initial few races. But, it will certainly be difficult to keep developing the car, atleast for the first year of the new regulations. Development is a crucial aspect that will decide the team’s trajectory for the remainder of the regulations. Now, amongst many other things, Max Verstappen opens up on the aspect where Red Bull can still take a step forward.

Max Verstappen (via Getty)
Max Verstappen (via Getty)

Max Verstappen highlighted that many things remained a simple correlation. He added that tire and engine temps were something that needed to be taken into account. Verstappen revealed how temperature always had a significant influence on the engine’s performance. Hence, Red Bull could take a step forward in this aspect and expect better performance over the season.

A lot of it is simply correlation, You always have to take temperature into account, for example, of the engine itself, but also the ambient conditions. That always has a significant influence on an engine’s performance. In that area, we can still take a step forward.

Max Verstappen noted.

Despite the early problems faced by Red Bull, they have definitely achieved a significant milestone with their power units. The team is going up against the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes in engine development. As such, time will tell about how Milton Keynes manages to defeat the rivals on track with Max Verstappen.

Read More: Bernie Ecclestone Backs Max Verstappen’s ‘Anti-Racing’ Concerns Over 2026 Rules