Verstappen does not know whether Red Bull's new F1 car "will be enough to win races"
Despite Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff's suggestions that Red Bull might enjoy a significant competitive advantage in terms of energy management over a long distance, four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen does not know whether Red Bull's new F1 car "will be enough to win races."
After completing 61 laps on the last day of the opening three-day Bahrain pre-season testing, and setting a best time of 1:35.341, the four-time World Champion emphasised both the value of the mileage achieved and the amount still left to learn.
“Looking at the test overall, the Team got in a good number of laps on the first day so we were happy with that. We completed a lot of things that we wanted to test with the new power unit and the car in general.
"Today it was a continuation of that plus also trying to explore a little bit more with the car; you go through so many test items that it continues to change and evolve with everything that you are testing. In general, it is all so new that we are still learning a lot, but the car was good.
"We also have new tyres, so we spent some time looking at different sets and understanding what we need to improve and be better at. With the power unit, looking at the laps we got on the board, the start that we have had is good. That’s exactly what we wanted to do and it was not a given.
Verstappen’s comments reflect a familiar early‑season balance: satisfaction with reliability and data collection, paired with caution about drawing conclusions too soon. The team’s focus on the new power unit, tyre behaviour, and evolving setup directions suggests a methodical approach to understanding the RB’s foundations before chasing outright performance.
"Whether it will be enough to win races, we don’t know, we will just focus on ourselves and try to do the best we can, but there is still massive room for improvement.
"Finally, with the car, we learnt a lot about what worked and what didn’t. Our runs also gave us even more ideas for the afternoon with Isack and then for next week, where we can continue to try new things and different set ups.”
