Max Verstappen Unfazed by Red Bull F1 2026 Order

Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Max Verstappen admitted he has “no idea” where Red Bull Racing stands in Formula 1’s competitive order after the Bahrain 2026 pre-season test, but stressed he is not concerned ahead of the season opener.

Verstappen completed 197 laps of Red Bull’s total 337 during the three-day test overseen by the FIA. The Dutchman covered 136 laps across Wednesday before adding 61 more on Friday morning in the RB22, with the programme centred on reliability validation, aerodynamic correlation and long-run consistency rather than headline lap times.

Rival teams, including Mercedes, were quick to label Red Bull as the benchmark. Team principal Toto Wolff described the Milton Keynes squad as the reference point, while George Russell characterised its advantage as “pretty scary.” However, lap time distribution indicated that the leading quartet — McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari — were closely matched, each topping one day of running in Sakhir.

Asked where he believed Red Bull sits within the pecking order, Verstappen dismissed early comparisons due to the usual testing variables, including engine modes and fuel loads.

“No idea. No, I’m not really very worried about that either. We’ll see in Melbourne,” Verstappen said.

“It’s positive in the sense that we can just drive a lot of laps without any problems. As for how fast we’re going, not everybody is driving full speed yet. You don’t know, so you really can’t gauge that.”

“If it were up to me, I’d just drive my laps and go home and enjoy myself. Then we’ll wait it out until Melbourne, but of course everyone always wants to make it more exciting than it is.”

With reliability established as the primary objective in Bahrain, Red Bull now shifts focus toward the Australian Grand Prix as the first true performance benchmark of the 2026 campaign. The narrow margin between the top four teams suggests Melbourne will offer the first meaningful indication of competitive hierarchy before the season’s early narrative begins to take shape.