F1 2026: McLaren shocked by 'strong' Red Bull after testing

Brown gives Verstappen a call — Photo: © IMAGO

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McLaren shocked by 'strong' Red Bull after testing

Zak Brown is keeping a close eye on McLaren's F1 rivals

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 7 February 2026 11:55

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has given his verdict on how competitive F1 rivals Red Bull are looking ahead of the first round of the 2026 season.

With just one month to go until the first grand prix of the new regulations cycle, all 11 teams are now gearing up for the first round of official pre-season testing following the Barcelona shakedown in January.

All but one team took to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to carry out private testing for a maximum of three days across a five-day period after Williams revealed they would not be making the trip to the shakedown at all.

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Mercedes were the winners where reliability was concerned after the Silver Arrows completed 500 laps thanks to F1 driver duo George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, and though it was seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton who topped the unofficial timesheets, Red Bull were perhaps the biggest surprise of the week.

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Zak Brown on Red Bull: 'I'd rather them not be as competitive'

Last month's private tests didn't exactly go to plan for Red Bull or McLaren.

After Max Verstappen's new team-mate Isack Hadjar took an unplanned trip into the wall during the closing stages of day two, Red Bull's Barcelona shakedown plans were stalled as they were forced to wait for replacement parts to arrive from Milton Keynes.

McLaren on the other hand had to cut their second day of testing short after Oscar Piastri had spent most of the afternoon in the garage instead of at the wheel of the MCL40.

Piastri later revealed McLaren had suffered 'a fuel systems issue' and even after the papaya team managed to get out on track for their final day, the Aussie star still hinted at problems with their Mercedes power unit.

Technical issues are to be expected at any of the three sets of pre-season tests this year thanks to the new regulations, but Red Bull's rivals appear to be taken aback by how reliable the Milton Keynes-based squad's first in-house power unit has appeared so far this year.

The RB22 is the first F1 car powered by Red Bull Powertrains, and has so far helped to establish that the energy drink giants are functioning well as a works team.

Speaking at the opening of the McLaren Racing Center in Indianapolis recently, McLaren CEO Brown made his feelings clear that Red Bull could be a threat to the papaya squad in 2026 as they look to retain both titles.

"The Red Bull engine was very strong," the 54-year-old admitted.

"I think everyone was pleasantly surprised. I'd rather them not be as competitive but [I’m] impressed with what they've done, because they came out, they did a lot of miles, and they seem to be very competitive."

When does the 2026 F1 season start?

Red Bull and McLaren will be in action when the 2026 season starts in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. The first race of the year takes place on March 8 at 3pm local time (AEDT), 4am GMT, and 11pm ET. The first round of pre-season tests in Bahrain will kick off before then on February 11 until 13, and the second round continues from February 18 until February 20.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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