Max Verstappen on new Red Bull F1 engine: ‘Everyone expected it to explode’

Max Verstappen has been complimentary of the job Red Bull has done with its first in-house Formula 1 engine, joking that “nobody expected we would go out without it exploding”.

The 2026 season marks the first year Red Bull has developed a power unit in-house at its Milton Keynes base, doing so in consultation with Ford, whose name is attached to the engine.

Red Bull’s new power unit surprised a number of its rivals during the Barcelona shakedown last month for its reliability and performance.

And it has continued to show well at the Bahrain F1 test, as Max Verstappen completed 136 laps on Wednesday, while Isack Hadjar registered 87 on Thursday despite losing the morning to an apparent hydraulic leak.

Speaking about the new engine on Thursday, Verstappen says Red Bull is “heading in the right direction”.

“I mean, it’s amazing to see a new manufacturer to come in, and also for everyone to see the new car and engine together, it’s like their little baby,” he told the official F1 website.

“There’s still a lot to learn, but I think we’re heading in the right direction.

“Of course, there are still things that we want to do better.

“I think we will never be satisfied, but at least we’re not breaking down.

“I think no one really expected that from the beginning, we would go out of the garage without exploding.

“So, that has been very positive.”

The opening Bahrain test concludes on Friday, with Verstappen set to drive in the first session, while Hadjar takes over in the afternoon.

On his run plan, Verstappen says his focus will be more on understanding his own driving with the new car regulations.

“Just driving a bit more,” he said when asked what his plan would be.

“It’s half a day for me tomorrow, just trying to understand the car and engine a bit for myself, not only for the engineering side of things.”

Pre-season testing continues next week, with three more days of running in Bahrain from 18-20 February.