The RB22 is still a “work in progress” but substantial mileage during Formula 1‘s private shakedown at Barcelona has left Max Verstappen optimistic about the 2026 season.
The Milton-Keynes-based squad kicked off its debut as a works outfit at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, earlier this week as part of F1’s private shakedown.
The 2026 regulations reset has brought in substantial changes to both, the engine and chassis formulas. Naturally, there is a lot of fine tuning required from the teams to optimise their packages.
And while this opening test – first of three pre-season tests scheduled – was more about the teams ironing out the gremlins with their concepts, the reliability record and mileage logged up and down the grid has come as a pleasant surprise.
Verstappen himself has registered a solid haul of laps under his belt, amassing a stellar 118 laps during the final day of running.
“It has been nice to be back on track this week, and the first morning I had in the car, I couldn’t do too many laps because of the weather, but Friday was good,” he said.
“We did a lot of laps [on Friday], and that was really the key. We learned a lot, and there are, of course, still a lot of things that we want to look into, but it’s a good start.”
Red Bull-Ford engine debut was an ’emotional affair’ says Verstappen
For Red Bull, debuting its first-ever power unit, developed in collaboration with Ford, was a monumental milestone. The icing on the cake was perhaps the fact that not only did it stand its own ground, it did so unhindered by any reliability issues.
The Dutchman admits that uninterrupted running for the Milton-Keynes-based squad was a key box it has checked off in Barcelona – something that even left a lot of people who have worked on the project “emotional”.
“So much work has gone into this power unit over the last few years, and to see it then go into the car and on the first day, immediately do so many laps was great to see,” revealed the four-time F1 Champion.
“There were a lot of emotional faces in the garage, and that was very special.”
2026 a ‘work in progress’ that Red Bull is committed to
Given the magnitude of changes introduced in the incumbent rule-set, the competitive landscape is slated to change as teams get to grips with their individual packages.
The 28-year-old is acutely aware of this, and has refused to read into his lap times. The stopwatch has seldom told a folly in F1, but Verstappen is more interested in the team logging data and understanding with respect to its power unit and car.
“Everything is still a work in progress, but we have hit the ground running quite well,” he asserted. “We need time to understand the engine and make setup changes.
“You try to put as many laps on the board and try as many things as you can in the day.”
Red Bull will have two more testing opportunities in February at the Bahrain International Circuit before heading to Australia for the season-opener in March.
And while the flying F1 circus will have one eye on the Albert Park Circuit, when the cars will run in anger for the first time in its truest sense, Verstappen is more grounded in the reality of this transitionary phase between Barcelona and Australia being more about eliminating attrition and capitalising on the finer details.
“I think we are doing that, and this is what this shakedown was about and what we will continue to do,” he concluded.
“It is a complicated formula for everyone to get right, which means there is still a lot of work to do before we head to Bahrain. We will go there and keep the work going.”
READ MORE – Red Bull hints at link between RB22 competitiveness and the motivation of Max Verstappen
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