Red Bull have now strengthened in one area that could make Max Verstappen a title favourite in 2026.
Red Bull understand where part of their success has come from, and a recruitment drive to bring key staff from previous engine suppliers Honda, could be the difference between Verstappen winning and losing the title.
12 January 2026
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer

Red Bull hiring Honda engineers could be the key to Max Verstappen winning the 2026 title. Red Bull Powertrains have left Martin Brundle impressed in the past, but it will only be when Verstappen’s new car takes to the track in Barcelona, Bahrain and then Melbourne that anyone will know how their hybrid engine stacks up against the competition.

A report from Motorsport has shared more details about the work going on behind the scenes at Red Bull to compete with their rivals. The reports state that Red Bull have ‘recruited’ from Honda and Mercedes to try and bring together as much knowledge as possible from their rivals.

This might have already had an impact, with Mercedes and Red Bull accused of finding an engine loophole that could give them an advantage over the competition. Verstappen has previously been extremely complimentary about Honda, as they have powered all four of his world championships, and he paid tribute to them after his win at the Japanese Grand Prix last year.

‘A recruitment drive’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/features...urite-in-2026/


Damon Hill explains why his ‘guts’ are telling him Max Verstappen is in no rush to leave Red Bull
12 January 2026
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer

Red Bull Racing know that producing a competitive car is incredibly important for the short and long-term future of the team. For the first time since 2021, Max Verstappen will go into an F1 campaign without the number one on his car. Damon Hill’s ‘guts’ tell him Max Verstappen is very happy staying at Red Bull. Hill was speaking about Verstappen’s situation on the Stay on Track Podcast, and he explained: “So I suppose a big question then is, Max, can he win? Our Red Bull up for it?”

“Have they been decimated by the loss of so many key personnel over the last 18 months or so? Adrian [Newey], Christian Horner. I mean, you’ve got Jonathan Wheatley who’s gone off to Audi. Helmut Marko is gone as well. And they’ve lost one or two other key people as well. The team has been stripped of some fairly major personalities, but the ball kept rolling.”

“I mean, they kept the fight up to the end. So something is still there that is making Red Bull a very effective fighting force. So I think, my guts are telling me, that team has still got what it takes. And I think Max would be making more noise. He would be unhappy. And he doesn’t seem to me to be unhappy. No, he didn’t finish 2025 unhappy. And what he said was, at the end, I think we should be proud of ourselves. I know he came second, but we fought brilliantly. He was lifting the team up.”

“The ball kept rolling”;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/dam...eave-red-bull/


Max Verstappen future pressure addressed by senior Ford figure
Ford has returned to Formula 1 after over two decades away, in the form of a technical partnership with Red Bull for the new power unit regulations.
13 January 2026
Nick Golding
RacingNews365

Ford Performance director Mark Rushbrook has addressed the uncertain future of Max Verstappen and whether it adds pressure to the American manufacturer’s partnership with Red Bull getting off to a strong start. For the first time in its history, Red Bull — with technical support from Ford — is producing its own power unit, placing it in direct engine competition with Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda and Audi.

"As racers, we always want to win, right?" Rushbrook told Motorsport Italy. "So it’s important to get out there and perform. We know 2026 will be a challenging year for everyone in the paddock due to the new rules. And regardless of the driver, it’s crucial that the team delivers."

Red Bull and Ford cannot afford a poor start to the new regulations if they are to challenge for the drivers’ and constructors’ titles, placing immediate pressure on performance. That is without even taking Verstappen’s uncertain future into account — something Rushbrook is keen to distance himself from. "My comments are independent of Max," he said. "We want to go out there with the intention of winning."

“It’s crucial that the team delivers";

https://racingnews365.com/max-versta...or-ford-figure


Max Verstappen suggests Oscar Piastri sold his ‘soul’ by listening to McLaren team orders
13 January 2026
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer

Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has weighed in on the McLaren team orders that dominated the front of the grid during the 2025 Formula 1 season. When Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix from Red Bull star Max Verstappen, he was 34 points clear of Lando Norris and had a three-figure advantage over the Dutchman.

Piastri’s camp was left upset in Monza, when a slow pit stop for Norris saw him asked to give a position back that created a six-point swing in the British driver’s favour. Norris then received no instructions to hand a place back to Piastri in Singapore despite making contact with his teammate to complete an overtake on the opening lap. McLaren then decided not to split their strategies in Qatar, costing the 24-year-old the victory he needed to keep his faint championship hopes alive.

In an interview with Blick, Verstappen was asked if he would have let Norris go if he was asked to by McLaren in Piastri’s situation and said: “Certainly not. If you do that even once without a clear reason, you’ve sold your soul. The team can then do whatever they want with you. And let’s not forget: Piastri was right in the middle of the title fight.” On top of this, he was asked about comments where he suggested he would have won the championship far earlier if he were in a McLaren in 2025, and continued: “That’s true. But I never actually interfere in my opponents’ internal problems. I can always give them a fighting answer on the track.”

“You’ve sold your soul”;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/max...n-team-orders/


Isack Hadjar reveals what he’s desperate to learn from Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2026
12 January 2026
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer

Isack Hadjar says being Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate is a ‘huge privilege’. Hadjar was asked on the Talking Bull podcast how it feels to be driving alongside Verstappen in 2026, and he simply replied: “So cool! I’m just 21 years old, I started in single-seaters in 2019, and I get to be teammates with the best driver on the grid.”

“It’s a huge privilege. Ahead of 2026, [I’ve] not really [spoken to him]. But I think the driver’s parade is the right time to go and have good chats with him, but he’s a very nice dude.” The Frenchman was then asked if there was anything he looked at in Verstappen that he needed to work on, and Hadjar continued: “Why did he finish so close to being world champion without the best car? “There’s been races where there’s very tricky conditions, and he’s always going to be here.”

“When conditions are a bit difficult, he’s there, and also his ability to just… he always turns up in Q3, he always goes and finds more lap time. If there’s like a single opportunity, if there’s a scenario out of 10 million, there’s only one where he’s going to win the race, he’ll win the race. You can really feel that once he goes in the car, you can tell there’s a mix of his natural ability, and you can tell that his 11 years of F1 are paying off. He goes in, and I just feel like he drives this F1 car like a go-kart, that’s the difference.”

‘Huge privilege’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/isa...-bull-in-2026/


Why Isack Hadjar’s mum was first to know about his Red Bull F1 drive
Isack Hadjar's mum knew that her son would be a Red Bull F1 driver before he did.
13 Jan 2026
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

Speaking in his first interview as a Red Bull driver, Hadjar explained how he found out the news and revealed that his mother Randa, an HR director who also acts as his manager, was informed before him. "I just called my mum," he told Red Bull’s in-house Talking Bull podcast. "She said that she actually got the phone call before I had it. She knew. Because she's my manager and she knows more than I do.”

Hadjar admitted he still has moments of disbelief as he prepares to contest his first F1 season at the Red Bull senior team. "There are moments where I do realise what's happening and I'm up for the challenge and sometimes like, 'What the hell am I doing here?’” Hadjar said. "It's so far away from my go-kart days. I'm like, 'Why me? How did I get chosen?’”

‘Moments of disbelief’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/108841...eammate-he-did