Despite his sharp criticism of the new generation of Formula 1 cars, Max Verstappen has no complaints about Red Bull’s first week of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
Max Verstappen satisfied after Bahrain test
His rather blunt comments about the new F1 regulations divided the paddock during the Bahrain test. Beyond the headlines, however, Max Verstappen focused on driving his Red Bull RB22, collecting valuable data for the engineers and improving the on-track behavior of both the car and the power unit developed in-house by the Milton Keynes squad in collaboration with Ford.
“Looking at the test as a whole, the team completed a good number of laps,” the Dutchman said. “So we are satisfied. We completed many of the tests we wanted to carry out with the new engine and the car in general. We also tried to explore the car a bit more, but there are so many elements to test that everything keeps changing and evolving as we move forward.”
“Overall,” continued the four-time world champion, “everything is so new that we are still learning a lot, but the car felt good. We also have new tires, so we spent some time evaluating the different sets and understanding what we need to improve and fine-tune. As for the engine, looking at the mileage we completed, the start has been good. It’s exactly what we wanted to achieve and it wasn’t a given. We don’t know if it will be enough to win races, we will just focus on ourselves and try to do our best, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. We are learning a lot about what works and what doesn’t on the car. Our tests also gave us further ideas to guide the work in the afternoon with Isack and for next week, where we can continue trying new things and different setups.”
Isack Hadjar’s comments
“The first week of testing,” added Verstappen’s new teammate Isack Hadjar, “went well. Obviously, after Barcelona I had to wait a bit before getting back in the car, but we managed to put it through its paces and work on what we need ahead of next week and Melbourne. There are so many things to evaluate, but so far we are sticking to our program. It’s always difficult to assess real performance and race pace during F1 pre-season testing, but we can be satisfied with the reliability we’ve seen this week regarding the power unit. There are still areas to improve in terms of balance and tire management, but that’s normal at this time of year. We are working together as a team to get where we want to be in Australia. I’ve known the people here for some time, but it’s great to work with them again in an environment like this.”
Max Verstappen’s pragmatism after the Bahrain test suggests that Red Bull Ford Powertrains has cleared its most significant hurdle: building a reliable foundation for a new era. While the champion remains vocal about the “strange” sensations of the 2026 regulations, the fact that the RB22 completed its planned program without a major failure indicates that the Milton Keynes squad is exactly where they intended to be as they prepare for the season opener in Australia.
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