Red Bull F1 car speeds through a Tesco supermarket car park: 'Nearly got run over'

Verstappen during FP1 at Suzuka — Photo: © Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool

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Red Bull F1 car speeds through a Tesco car park: 'Nearly got run over'

This is the last place you'd expect to see a Red Bull F1 car

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 22 April 2026 22:58

Red Bull F1 team appear to have swapped the track for a very different type of racing atmosphere during the five-week enforced break from the 2026 championship.

F1 and FOM were forced to cancel both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix this month due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with just one week left until the championship resumes with the Miami Grand Prix.

With no replacement races selected, this year's campaign has now been reduced to a 22-race calendar, for now at least.

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And whilst some teams have been taking to tracks such as Zandvoort and the Nurburgring to test machinery and tyres, Red Bull have taken to (checks notes) Tesco car park for their latest outing.

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Red Bull's history of unusual F1 appearances

Red Bull's entire brand is built upon doing what no one else has ever dared to do, whether that be their zero-gravity F1 pit stop, sending an athlete to skateboard down a building, or humbling some of the most creative minds in the world with their hilarious soapbox runs.

In the past, Red Bull's F1 machinery has been taken for a spin on the regular roads surrounding their head office and even been driven across a frozen lake by former Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Buemi.

But a video circulating on social media may have just provided us with the weirdest place a Red Bull F1 car has ever been snapped, with the clip appearing to show F1 machinery speeding around the car park of the popular British supermarket near the Milton Keynes HQ of the energy drink giants. I highly doubt that would have been an FIA homologated surface the Red Bull was driving on.

One individual posted a video to social media platform 'X', writing: "Went to get a Red Bull at Tesco Bletchley this morning and nearly got run over! #redbullracing"

Another similar clip appeared via the Daily Mail's TikTok account, with F1 fans flocking to the comments to jest over the explanation for the sighting.

One fan commented: "That's prolly [sic] Max Verstappen during the break," as another joked: "Did Verstappen want a meal deal?"

GPFans have contacted Red Bull for comment over the sightings.

Red Bull and their star driver Verstappen have returned to the nearby Silverstone F1 track this week for a final filming day before the calendar resumes next weekend.

When is the next F1 race?

The Japanese GP at the end of March marked the last race for over a month, with fans, drivers and teams enduring a five-week long enforced break in the 2026 calendar throughout April.

The fourth round of the 2026 championship will return next weekend in Miami, and will also mark the second sprint race of the year.

As a result, just a single practice session will take place on Friday, May 1, before sprint qualifying at 4:30pm local time (EDT).

Saturday, May 2 will then see the sprint race kick off at midday EDT before qualifying for the main grand prix takes place at 4pm.

Sunday, May 3 will then likely see F1 return, with lights out for the Miami GP at 4pm EDT.

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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