2026-02-27 11:40:20
Max Verstappen doesn’t expect Red Bull to be fighting for victory at next weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
The four-time world champion is satisfied with the team’s preparations for the new F1 season but thinks they will be behind their rivals when the campaign gets underway in Melbourne on March 8.
Reflecting on testing in Bahrain, Verstappen told Viaplay: “Overall, I feel positive in the sense that we had very few problems.
“I still find it quite special that we had everything so well under control, with such a new engine and, in general, with so many new people joining. So from that perspective, I’m very happy.”
The Dutch driver continued: “If you look at performance, I do think we still need to make a step to truly compete at the front.
“Because at the moment, I don’t think we will be fighting for the win. You have to stay realistic. But it was also not our expectation that this would immediately be the case, with the introduction of these new regulations and with our own engine.”
Red Bull have made their own engine for the first time this season and Verstappen says the team can be “proud” of their efforts – which have impressed rival outfits.
Asked about the reaction from other teams, Verstappen said: “That’s probably because they didn’t expect it either. They probably thought the engine would just blow up. So in that regard, we’ve simply done an excellent job and we have things well under control. We can definitely be proud of that.”
The racer added: “On the other hand, we know we still have work to do to find more power.
“But that’s no surprise to us. So where we are now, we can be proud, but of course we always want to improve. As winners, that’s the mentality I have and the team has. We’re realistic about the fact that it won’t be easy. At the same time, we have the ambition to make steps.”
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