F1 2026: Red Bull fear they are only FOURTH fastest team

Pre-Season Testing

Red Bull fear they are only FOURTH fastest F1 team

It's not the optimism that Max Verstappen fans were hoping for

Chris Deeley

Saturday 14 February 2026 19:55

Red Bull F1 chief Pierre Wache has sent a dire warning to Max Verstappen fans hoping for title number five this year.

Verstappen has been critical of the 2026 F1 regulations this week after putting in some good mileage in Bahrain, while also admitting that he doesn't believe Red Bull have the firepower of some of their rivals.

Wache has broadly aligned himself with the latter view at least, ranking the energy drink goliath just fourth on the grid on his initial impressions from three days of tests this week.

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While his star driver has shown the ability to overcome sub-par machinery to mount a title challenge in the past, three teams having better cars is quite an obstacle to overcome – particularly with Verstappen convinced that Mercedes aren't yet showing anything like their true pace.

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Red Bull chief: We could be wrong!

At a press conference after the week's running, Wache admitted that he's nowhere near certain of his judgement, but that he believes the three teams who made up the rest of the top four with Red Bull in 2025 will be up top once again.

"According to our analyses," he said, "Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren currently appear to be ahead of us, while we're right behind them. Of course, we could be wrong since we don't know the other teams' fuel loads or engine modes. Right now, instead of looking at others, we're focusing on addressing our own shortcomings."

He continued: "The traction in low-speed corners looks quite good. Additionally, Ferrari and Mercedes have quite impressed us with their straight-line speeds, especially in runs with low fuel loads.

"Of course, it's hard to draw a clear picture until everyone demonstrates their true performance with the same amount of fuel in Melbourne's qualifying sessions. However, I can say this: just like last year, the medium- and low-speed corners still stand out as our weakest point that we need to improve."

F1 Red Bull Pierre Wache