After the Australian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen couldn’t help but compare his Red Bull RB22 to the championship contenders, Ferrari and Mercedes. The race in Australia revealed a Red Bull still far from the top of Formula 1. Despite starting from the back after a qualifying crash, the Dutch driver executed an impressive comeback, finishing sixth and securing crucial points in a weekend that initially seemed lost.
The gap to Ferrari: for Verstappen it’s half the car and half the engine
Despite his final position, Max Verstappen clearly explained where Red Bull currently falls short compared to other teams. “We definitely have potential in the car, we know that. On the engine side, I think we’re not doing too badly. At the moment, I think what we’re missing is half the car and half the engine, so half the chassis and half the power unit, and it’s not too bad.” According to the four-time world champion, the deficit isn’t tied to a single technical element but rather a combination of factors the team needs to improve over the season.
Pride in the Red Bull-Ford project
Despite the early challenges, Max Verstappen emphasized the excellent work by the team, particularly considering this is Red Bull’s first season as a power unit manufacturer in collaboration with Ford. The American brand has returned to Formula 1 after more than twenty years, and the partnership with the Milton Keynes team is already showing promising results.
“I’m very critical of the regulations, but I really feel proud of the team and also of the engine department. The guys have done an incredible job. From this perspective, I’m very happy to be working with them.”
The goal is to win
“I’d just like to enjoy driving a bit more. But they’ve done an extraordinary job to get us where we are now, fighting with McLaren that has the Mercedes engine.” The four-time world champion is convinced that small improvements will be enough to return Red Bull to consistent top positions.
“I think if we improve a bit, we can fight a little further up. And then suddenly the world seems a little better. The regulations remain the same, but everything feels different when you’re more competitive. I hope that within a few races we’ll manage to take a small step forward.” – the Dutch driver concluded.
Max Verstappen’s balanced assessment of the RB22’s performance suggests that while Red Bull-Ford has cleared the massive hurdle of building a functional 2026 power unit, they are now in the difficult “fine-tuning” phase required to match the efficiency of established giants like Mercedes. By identifying the deficit as a 50/50 split between chassis and engine, the Dutchman has provided a clear roadmap for the engineers, signaling that even a minor breakthrough in energy deployment or aerodynamic balance could be enough to see the world champion back on the podium in short order.
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