Max Verstappen admits Red Bull 'not able' to fight for wins yet in 2026

09:36, 01 Mar

Updated: 10:33, 01 Mar

byHenry Eccles

Max Verstappen has said Red Bull "need to take another step" in order to compete for wins with the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari, claiming his team are not "able to fight for the win" yet in 2026.

Debuting their first-ever Red Bull-Ford powertrain, it was a successful test for Red Bull, with Verstappen finishing in the top three of the timing charts on the final two days in Bahrain, and the new engine comfortably third on mileage completed overall (10,506km).

However, Verstappen believes Red Bull are still short on performance compared to the other top teams, despite praising the Milton Keynes outfit for their "extraordinary" efforts in delivering the new engine.

Red Bull 'not able' to fight for wins yet, says Verstappen

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Photo: Race Pictures

Speaking to Viaplay, Verstappen was glad Red Bull did not have any major problems with their RB22 in Bahrain, but tempered expectations on the team ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.

Verstappen said: "In general, I reflect on it pretty positively as we didn’t have many issues. I think it’s extraordinary how we put together a brand-new engine with so many new people. It’s amazing how well structured it’s all been.

"Of course, in terms of performance, we’ll need to take another step to fight at the front, because realistically I don’t think we’d be able to fight for the win at the moment. To be fair, we didn’t expect that going into this new era of regulations, with our own power unit."

The four-time world champion has been the most vocal critic of the new 2026 F1 rules, calling them "anti-racing" and "Formula E on steroids," and despite a positive Bahrain test, it is clear he is still not fully happy with regulations so heavily focused on energy management.

"It’ll be more difficult than previous years. You knew that some tracks were better than others in terms of energy, but now it’s really extreme. Bahrain is one of the better tracks in terms of energy management, so it doesn't show as much.

"Melbourne will be one of the worser ones with the long straights and not many heavy braking zones. Small details in how to charge the battery will have a huge impact on performance, which is complicated. We’re spending a lot of time in the simulator to prepare.

“In the end, anything that’s driven on the limit is a challenge. So it doesn’t really matter what car it is. Some things are more fun to drive than other things. To just try and explains this to the average viewer and even just to myself when I’m looking at the data, it makes me wonder if this is really what we want."

Verstappen's comments make ex-F1 driver concerned about competition's future

Speaking on Verstappen's controversial comments was former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese, who seemed concerned not only for the quality of racing in F1 in 2026, but also for the Dutchman's long term future in the sport.

Read here to find out more on what Patrese thought was "very strange" about Verstappen's comments.