Verstappen: Red Bull's 2026 car was at times scary to drive early in the season
Max Verstappen, winner of the last two Grands Prix, said Red Bull struggled with an unbalanced car in the first part of the season, but upgrades from Baku onward completely changed the picture.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen admitted that Red Bull's car at times frightened him in the first half of the 2026 season as he reflected on the team's turnaround. The Dutch driver stressed that the upgrade packages the team has brought recently have fundamentally changed the car's character.
Verstappen has won the last two Grands Prix back to back and also took victory in last week's sprint race in Singapore. Yet he had reached the podium only once in the first seven races of the season.
A difficult first half
Early in the season, Red Bull had serious trouble keeping its car under control. Verstappen spun out of the British Grand Prix, and spins in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring and the Hungaroring also proved costly.
Verstappen said Baku was the turning point. Noting that the car became much better balanced from that race onward, he said driving it early in the season was at times scary, and that being able to fight at the front without problems now makes the job far more enjoyable.
Verstappen qualified only eighth in Baku, but he was in contention for pole until his final lap was spoiled by a yellow flag. In the race, he finished second, just behind George Russell. He has not been beaten since.
No title, but wins are the goal
Acknowledging that he is out of the championship fight, Verstappen said the aim for the remaining races is to enjoy themselves and collect more podiums and a few more wins.
For the second time in two years, Red Bull has managed to get a troubled car back on track in the second half of the season. Verstappen noted that, because of the rules, the two cars are completely different and the problems were different in nature too. He added that they had to find lap time, and that this year, on the engine side, unlocking full performance was at times complicated for everyone.
According to Verstappen, the team's priority is to start next season stronger. Saying they have gained a great deal of experience since the first race and fixed many of the car's weaknesses, he said they are not yet where they want to be but will keep developing to carry what they have learned this year into next year.
This article was compiled with the help of AI from information published by RaceFans.
