Red Bull F1 2026 Season Preview: Max Verstappen and Ford could pull off a miracle

Red Bull will enter a Formula 1 season for the first time in five years without holding a championship title after a troubled 2025 campaign.

Max Verstappen may have taken the drivers' championship down to the last race in Abu Dhabi before being pipped by McLaren's Lando Norris, but that only masks the catastrophic issues the team faced during a highly transitional season where only the Dutchman’s magic kept them competitive, with changes continuing over the winter.

There are a lot of new faces and names in the team this year, including the first year of a partnership with Ford, so where do they stand heading into F1's new era of regulations?

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Who are Red Bull's drivers?

Max Verstappen is the lead driver for Red Bull, and Isack Hadjar will be his new team-mate for the 2026 season. Verstappen won the world championship for four straight campaigns between 2021 and 2024 and is widely regarded as the best driver on the planet despite the title being wrestled away from him last season.

Hadjar is in his second season of F1 having made his debut for Red Bull's sister team Racing Bulls last season and impressing along the way. Red Bull have had huge issues in the last two years with drivers like Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda being massively inferior to Verstappen's pace, so if Hadjar can at least keep the Dutchman honest he will be on the right track.

Where did Red Bull finish in 2025?

Max Verstappen finished 2nd in the drivers’ championship losing out on defending his title by just two points. Yuki Tsunoda joined from Racing Bulls after just two races into the season but failed to impress on his way to 17th. This led to Red Bull finishing the constructors’ championship in 3rd place.

No more Christian Horner

Christian Horner was dismissed as team principal of Red Bull after the 2025 British Grand Prix in July following 20 years at the helm. Although he played a huge part in turning Red Bull into a title-winning machine, his last 18 months in the role saw him plagued with distractions. This included an accusation of inappropriate behaviour by a female member of staff that Horner denied and was later cleared of following an internal investigation in the company.

However, key allies including Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley left the team, while his relationship with Verstappen and the star driver’s entourage deteriorated. To cap it all off, on-track results reflected a big decline in performance. While Horner's axe was an initial shock, the signs had been out in the open for a long time.

Who is the new Red Bull team principal?

Laurent Mekies was parachuted in from Racing Bulls, and after a slow start has got the team pointing in the right direction again. Although he couldn’t help Red Bull retain Verstappen's drivers' championship, he turned Max's title bid from being in a state of 'no chance' mid-season to entirely possible by the last race. So credit is due already to the Frenchman.

A new engine partner as Ford era begins

Red Bull has collaborated with Ford, who will have a major input in the team's power units until at least 2030. Red Bull have been using their own engines since 2022 with assistance from Honda, but for 2026 the team have partnered up with Ford for the first time. Red Bull of course bought the F1 team from Ford for the 2005 season back when the Milton Keynes outfit was known as Jaguar.

There would be a fair amount of understanding had the Ford engine not been as powerful and reliable as the likes of F1 stalwarts Mercedes and Ferrari, but signs in testing suggested it is proving competitive enough while providing good mileage for the team. In short, very promising signs in the early days.

The biggest reason to hope

Max Verstappen. The 2025 season was proof that even with a car which was far from being the best on the grid, the Dutchman was still able to launch a credible title challenge. If the Red Bull looks as competent as the two Bahrain tests have suggested, then Verstappen will be well in contention for the world championship yet again.

The biggest reason to worry

Being outgunned on the strategic battlefield. Hannah Schmitz is a remarkable engineer and team strategist - one of, if not, the best in F1, but her hands are tied if in some scenarios Verstappen is the only Red Bull battling rival driver pairings. Teams need both cars to play effective strategies at the front of the pack and Verstappen's lack of a rear gunner has been a huge weakness for a while in the team and Red Bull will be desperate for Isack Hadjar to play an effective support role and make Schmitz's job just that little bit easier.

Red Bull prediction

Red Bull are heading in the right direction but they don't look like the team to beat. Verstappen is good value to pick up wins but it's hard to see him winning back his crown in year one of the Red Bull/Ford project. Isack Hadjar won't solve the second driver problem but will be an improvement on those that have failed before him. For this reason, you can write Red Bull out of the constructors’ championship battle now.

Latest F1 odds for 2026

Max Verstappen to win the drivers' championship: 10/3 Isack Hadjar to win the drivers' championship: 100/1 Red Bull to win the constructors' championship: 8/1

Red Bull fun fact

Since Red Bull entered F1 in 2005, no team has won more than their eight drivers' championships. Sebastian Vettel (2010-2013) and Max Verstappen (2021-2024).

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