Ford Unexpectedly Strong as it Heads Back to Formula 1 with Red Bull

Testing Suggests Ford, Red Bull and Verstappen May be Real Dark Horses After All

With the 2026 Formula 1 season set for a controversial debut at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday 8 March, it appears that Red Bull Racing and its new Ford power units may well be the dark horses after all.

While many, and the Red Bull Ford team itself continues to play its chances down, its pace in the three pre-season shakedown and test sessions seem to suggest otherwise. Of course, the controversial new Formula 1 power unit regulations continue to dominate the headlines on their seeming inability to deliver enough electrical energy to properly power the cars over a single lap.

Yet while all that is going down, the new Red Bull Ford combination quietly got on with the job at hand to emerge among the favorites, in spite of its all-new power unit having zero track record. The team defied expectations with its brand-new Ford badged in-house package, while former partner Honda failed to deliver with Aston Martin. Itself a mighty indictment for the True-Blue new team.

The New Red Bull Ford Looked in Great Shape in Testing

As expected, the new Red Bull RB22 seemed in great shape in testing. Even if it seemed to lack versus pacesetters Ferrari and Mercedes longer runs both. Red Bull Ford however appears to be on par with recant archrivals McLaren Mercedes. Which left current title favorite, Mercedes driver George Russell scratching his head. “Red Bull’s energy deployment definitely looks the best on the grid,” Russell proposed. “Which is a bit of a surprise and kudos to Ford and Red Bull.”

Whether that’s just Mercedes politicking or an honest assessment is difficult to judge, but Red Bull star Max Verstappen is less sure. “It’s special that everything was under control, with such a new engine, so from that perspective, I’m very happy,” the Dutchman elaborated. “But if you look at performance, I think we still need to make a step to truly compete at the front. We must stay realistic. I don’t think we’ll be fighting for the win.”

“We can’t forget that there was just a field where our factory is three years ago,” team principal Laurent Mekies concludes. “We’re very proud of them and we had a very good start, but we know we are going to run into a number of uncomfortable moments. So, we’re happy to be in it but there’s going to be a huge development race both on the chassis and power unit side, which we all love.”

Racing Bulls Ford Set for a Solid Mid-Pack Season?

Red Bull’s Ford powered sister team Racing Bulls remained inconspicuous through winter testing, suggesting continued strong midfield presence off a significant upgrade package expected in Australia. “Testing has been productive,” team boss Alan Permane insists. “We learned a lot about the car and the power unit; both of which ran reliably with only a few minor issues. What we seeing here will change rapidly as we add performance race-by-race.”

Charles Leclerc emerged on top of the timesheets at the end of testing, also suggesting a Ferrari Formula 1 revival in 2026. The Monegasque’s 1 minute 31.992 second lap of the Bahrain circuit compares to second best Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes at 1:32.803. McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris followed with Max Verstappen fifth for Red Bull Ford at 1 minute 33.109. The Australian Gran Prix starts midnight US Eastern time Sunday morning 8 March.

Images: Ford/Red Bull

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