Max Verstappen's genius new trick stuns Red Bull rivals in F1 testing

F1 is yet to return to our screens for competitive action in 2026, but Max Verstappen is already the talk of the paddock.

2026 marks the four-time champion's 12th year in the sport and his 11th with Red Bull's main F1 team, yet for the first time since 2021, he has headed out on track without the number 1 on his car.

After losing out on the drivers' title by just two points at last year's season finale, Verstappen is back and he means business.

The 28-year-old left an impression on his rivals after his first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain this week, dwarfing his rival's lap count after completing 136 on his own in the RB22 on Wednesday, and posting the fastest lap time in the AM session.

But it isn't Verstappen's lap count that's got people talking about the chances of a comeback, but instead, the downshifting trick he is supposedly leaning on to get around the circuit faster than his rivals.

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How have the new power unit rules changed racing in F1?

This year, Verstappen and the 21 other drivers joining him on the F1 grid will have to entirely adapt the way they go racing, both physically and mentally.

2026 welcomes a new regulations cycle and with it, comes the biggest overhaul in chassis and engine regulations of the modern era, with plenty of new gadgets, terms and tactics for drivers to wrap their heads around.

Perhaps one of the most noticeable changes for the drivers themselves is the shift to a slight decrease in power output from the internal combustion engine (ICE) which was previously between 550kW and 560kW and is now 400kW. This change means there is almost an exact 50/50 split between the ICE and the electrical energy, which has been tripled for 2026.

On paper, the major changes to the sport could give stars like Verstappen an advantage, especially seeing as the Dutchman spends what sometimes feels like every waking moment either on the sim or racing a car.

What is Verstappen's 2026 testing trick?

Early reports from Bahrain have alluded to a trick Verstappen is using to get the most out of the new power split after the 28-year-old was seen carrying out an aggressive double downshift to harvest energy and keep the MGU-K charged.

According to The Race, Verstappen has been seen using first gear at Turn 10 in Bahrain this week, a part of the track he would never normally be expected to do so at, with his rivals continuing to rely on second gear.

The whole point of testing is to try out new ideas and Verstappen has seemingly inspired his fellow racers already, with many attempting to copy the tactic as the day progressed.

Whether this trick will still be rolled out by Verstappen at the first grand prix of the year or not remains to be seen, but it's no surprise that it's the Dutchman who is getting creative with the new rules.

Toto Wolff seems to have already been spooked by the impressive performances of Verstappen and Red Bull, whilst F1 pundit and racer James Hinchcliffe already warned of the sheer spare capacity Verstappen would have to experiment with the new 2026 cars.

Before Red Bull had even taken to the track in Bahrain this year, Hinchcliffe said: "You read all the stuff now about what’s going to make the real difference behind the wheel in this new reg set, and it’s that extra capacity to manage energy and all the rest of it... there’s nobody on the grid that has more bandwidth in hand than Verstappen.

"There’s a chance he’s going to be even higher than everybody. The gap’s going to even grow to the rest of the field."

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