There is a lot of excitement around the technical regulations overhaul for the 2026 F1 season. One of the most interesting and exciting stories to follow next season, will be the performance of Red Bull's RB22, as the team are building their own engines in partnership with Ford. An ambitious task, however Red Bull Powertrain's technical director Ben Hodgkinson revealed that four-time champion, Verstappen, is already impressed with the team's developments.

Hodgkinson revealed: "He was able to see some running engines doing laps, so he got to hear what the '26 power unit would sound like. I think he was impressed. This is an exceptional facility put together by a group of really exceptional people. The level of detail we go into on every single element, I think is absolutely vital in trying to get where we aspire to get on the grid and on the podium."

The new technical regulations will see a change to both the engine and the aerodynamics on all of the cars next season, and will also see the departure of DRS, in favour of a new system labelled Manuel Override Mode.

Hodgkinson also revealed that Verstappen plays a fundamental role in shaping Red Bull, and that the Dutchman has a 'great understanding' of what happens behind the scenes of the Milton-Keynes based squad.

Hodgkinson continued: "He has got a great understanding. I'm sure that's part of his advantage, to be honest. He was asking lots of really intelligent questions as we went around. He really wanted to know more about certain bits that we're talking about. It was a real pleasure to tell him more about it."

Verstappen has had to endure a difficult 2025 campaign with Red Bull this season, and has seemingly had a car that performs completely differently at several circuits. The best example of this came at the last Grand Prix in Brazil, where Verstappen was knocked out in Q1 and ended up starting from the pit lane for the Grand Prix. The Dutchman then came home in third position after fighting through the field, with the car performing at a higher level for the four-time champion.

Hodgkinson added: "He was certainly very keen to point out how important it is to have the performance. We are all aiming to be at the front. That is the only thing that is success and anything else isn't good enough. So that's what we're pushing for."

Despite Red Bull's lofty ambitions for 2026, they are still in contention for the 2025 Drivers' World Championship with Verstappen as F1 heads to Las Vegas for the first race in the triple header to conclude the season. Verstappen sits 49-points adrift of championship leader, Lando Norris.

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