Running their new Red Bull-Ford powertrains in both the Red Bull and Racing Bulls teams at the Bahrain Test, the Milton Keynes-based outfit have surprised the paddock both on pace and performance.

On Day 1 in Bahrain, Red Bull's energy recovery and straight-line speed were deemed to be more advanced than its rivals, leading Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff to conclude that Red Bull are "very much" the early 2026 favourites.

Adding to the early positivity is new driver Isack Hadjar, who claimed the RB22 is performing far better than he expected after his move from the sister Racing Bulls team.

Speaking to media, including GPblog, Hadjar said: "It's way beyond what I anticipated. I think the impression last year towards the end of the season, they were not very positive.

The 21-year-old was also asked if Red Bull's reliability concerns were behind them, the Frenchman had to miss the first two hours of Bahrain Day 2 after a reported hydraulic leak caused overnight issues for the team.

"Yeah, honestly, like I said, I think in Barcelona I had many, many doubts and they cleared very quickly. Of course, I still expect us to have issues during the season, it's normal, but a lot less than what I thought."

However, Hadjar also said he was not yet 100% ready for Melbourne, with a raft of procedures and scenarios still needing to be looked at under the complicated 2026 regulations.

"No one's going to be fully prepared and done for Melbourne. Otherwise, there's something wrong. Yeah, this is all electronic calibration stuff. You just need more scenarios happening to understand more how the tires behave, torque delivery. You just need more practice, but everyone will get there before Melbourne."

One person who is a little less happy right now is Max Verstappen, who claimed the new generation of F1 cars are "anti-racing" and "Formula E on steroids," but Red Bull's technical director Pierre Waché has said they know how to make the four-time world champion happier in the RB22.