Max Verstappen’s prediction has already come true after Racing Bulls’ first lap with Red Bull engine.
Verstappen predicted at the Red Bull launch in Detroit just last week, suggesting that testing will be about spending more time in the garage than on track.
20 January 2026
Shay Rogers
F1 Oversteer

Max Verstappen’s ‘more time in the garages’ prediction has already come true at Racing Bulls. “I think that during the first tests in Barcelona starting on 26 January, we’ll be spending more time in the garages than out on the track,” Max Verstappen said. “None of us have any idea about the new car or the engine. Hopefully, we’ll all be a bit wiser after the two tests in Bahrain in February.”

Racing Bulls’ very first day of running with the new engine hasn’t quite been as successful as it could have been. After completing just one lap, they were stuck in the garage for a while, trying to fix gremlins with their car before completing the rest of their 15km shakedown.

‘Max Verstappen’s prediction has already come true’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/max...d-bull-engine/


Racing Bulls immediately hit problems with Red Bull’s 2026 engine at Liam Lawson’s Imola shakedown
20 January 2026
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer

Racing Bulls immediately hit problems with Red Bull’s 2026 F1 regulations engine amid their shakedown with Lawson at Imola. According to Motorsport.com, Racing Bulls’ faced a delayed start to the track action as they had ‘some start-up problems’ with the RBPT DMO1.

Racing Bulls hired Imola for the day to put the VCARB 03 through its initial paces ahead of a filming day at the now-former home of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Wednesday. The session eventually started at 12:26 in Italy, with Lawson completing three installation laps.

‘Delayed start’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/rac...ola-shakedown/


Round-up: Racing Bulls’ new F1 car for 2026 runs at Imola, and more
21st January 2026
Keith Collantine
RaceFans

Racing Bulls 03 first shakedown with Lawson and Lindblad (YouTube)

‘Racing Bulls’ new F1 car’;

https://www.racefans.net/2026/01/21/...-january-2026/


Gary Anderson's verdict on the real 2026 Racing Bulls
Jan 20, 2026
Gary Anderson
The Race

Tuesday’s running at Imola is the first time the DM01 power unit, designed and built in-house by Red Bull Powertrains, has run on track. We can see a very small Ford logo (red ellipse) on the nose and the sidepod just above the body stay. I’m pretty sure that is, in reality, about the size of Ford’s technical involvement in this project!

Starting with a look at the front suspension, it’s pushrod operated (red highlight above). The top wishbone (forward leg dark blue, rearward leg light blue) has a lot less anti-dive than used last year.
The rear suspension is also pushrod-operated (red highlight) inboard suspension. The rear top wishbone (front leg highlighted in dark blue, rearward leg in light blue) and lower wishbone (rear leg highlighted in dark green, rearward leg highlighted in light green) have retained a reasonable if not increased amount of rear anti-lift.

Around the middle of the car, we can see a fair amount of change with a body stay (highlighted in red below) supporting that large flat area of underfloor. I expect this flat floor area will be one of the first areas where we will see developments flooding in. The final question is whether, as Racing Bulls is the junior team, this car we’ve now seen for real is close to what Red Bull Racing will actually hit the track with?

‘Gary Anderson's verdict’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/g...-racing-bulls/


First images of 2026 Racing Bulls revealed from Imola shakedown
Jan 20, 2026
Jack Cozens
The Race

The Race can reveal images from Racing Bulls' 2026 Formula 1 car's first on-track running during a shakedown at Imola. Alongside sister team Red Bull, Racing Bulls took part in the first launch of 2026 last week when its livery was revealed at an event with Red Bull Powertrains' new partner Ford in Detroit.

But as this was displayed on a showcar - different from the FIA and F1's models, and the one used by Red Bull - Tuesday's shakedown images offer the first representative sight of the 2026 Racing Bulls car, which has a particularly distinctive airbox.

What will be known as the VCARB 03 - the chassis name derived from its Visa Cash App sponsorship - completed its first laps just before lunchtime local time on Tuesday at a cold and wet Imola. It's understood Racing Bulls plans to do just its 15km 'demonstration' day running allowance today then the longer 'promotional' running on Wednesday. Liam Lawson was at the wheel for the car's track debut.

‘Distinctive airbox’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/r...ola-shakedown/


Rookie Lindblad spins during Racing Bulls shakedown
Racing Bulls gave its 2026 Formula 1 car a first taste of the track at Imola, with a brief shakedown interrupted by a spin for rookie Arvid Lindblad.
21 Jan 2026
Ben Waterworth
Speedcafe

During his run, the F1 newcomer lost control at the Villeneuve chicane and slid into the gravel, bringing the shakedown to an early halt.
#ArvidLindblad’s car after he spun at Variante Villeneuve earlier today.#F1 #VCARB #test #Imola pic.twitter.com/RBpD78r5VH
— Jacopo Rava (@JacopoRava04) January 20, 2026

The car appeared to avoid significant damage and was recovered back to the garage, with Racing Bulls still able to complete its remaining laps from the demo allowance. The VCARB 03 was sporting the livery unveiled last week and featured several design elements in line with the new regulations, including a distinctive airbox, narrow sidepod inlets and pushrod suspension at both ends.
lo lindo que suena el motor del racing bulls pic.twitter.com/hJffaFv4e1
— Tino (@TinoCLeclerc) January 20, 2026

Racing Bulls will remain at Imola on Wednesday for a 200km filming day, where Lawson and Lindblad are set to complete up to 40 laps on demonstration rubber. The running will allow the team to gather further data and mileage before the car heads to Barcelona for the private pre-season test from January 26–30.

‘Spin for rookie Arvid Lindblad’;

https://speedcafe.com/rookie-lindbla...lls-shakedown/