Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Wednesday, January 14, 2026, 7:18 p.m. / Updated Wednesday, January 14, 2026, 7:20 p.m.
Max Verstappen (28), a four-time Formula 1 world champion and runner-up in 2025, is not very confident about where Red Bull Racing will be in testing at the end of the month.
At the beginning of the year, Formula 1 constructors are hard at work perfecting the single-seaters with which they will approach the 2026 season, the first of the new era of the competition, one that foresees changes to the chassis, aerodynamics and propulsion systems.
In order for the teams to have more opportunities to test the single-seaters on the circuit, the pre-season tests have been extended compared to previous years. Instead of only three days of preparation, teams will now have 9 days, divided into three separate sessions.
The first of these will take place at the “Catalunya” circuit near Barcelona, between January 26 and 30. Although the test has an official duration of five days, each team will be able to participate in only three of them. It will be a private test, a “shakedown” behind closed doors, before which Max Verstappen did not look confident at all.
Max Verstappen does not have high hopes before the tests in Barcelona
“None of us have any idea about the new cars or engines. I think during the first test in Barcelona, which starts on January 26, we will spend more time in the garage than on the track.
I hope we will all be a little wiser after the two tests in Bahrain in February,” the Dutchman told Blick, quoted by sportal.bg.
2026 will be the first year that Red Bull Racing will operate with its own power units, made in partnership with Ford. Verstappen admitted that “I've been a couple of times” to the factory in Milton Keynes, UK, but insists that “everyone is still in the dark”.
The two tests in Bahrain, which will last three days each, are scheduled for February 11-13 and February 18-20 respectively. The 2026 Formula 1 season will kick off with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6 to 8 in Melbourne.
We remind you that in 2026, single-seaters will be smaller, lighter, have a different aerodynamic concept and different engines.
Red Bull will unveil its 2026 car on January 15.
