Max Verstappen details Red Bull mission ahead of major F1 discovery

Max Verstappen has explained that his Red Bull team now face the "real test" of running its own power unit for the first time, in the Australian Grand Prix.

Red Bull's in-house engine, developed with technical help from Ford, has been in the works since 2022, and caught the eye during pre-season testing for its reliability and energy-deployment.

The unit will be used across both Red Bull-backed teams on the grid, with Verstappen's new team-mate Isack Hadjar and Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad also armed with it, as team leader Verstappen recalled the steps to get the engine on the grid - and told his team that the "real test" will be the weekend in Melbourne.

"It will be great to be back on track and start up the season, it has felt like a long build-up to this point, and it is exciting to finally get out racing again," said Verstappen. 

"In Bahrain, seeing the car with our own power unit getting in so many laps was very impressive; there were a lot of proud faces seeing it go out for the first time, and the team has done a great job. 

"We’ve been driving the car in the simulator for such a long time, so when it was finally time to come back and see the car ready to go, I did get goosebumps. 

"Now is the real test. Looking at Melbourne, I don’t know how it is all going to play out, but we have been learning a lot and working on optimising the car as best we can.

"Obviously, this track has many great memories for me, especially driving my first ever F1 race here. But this year will be a particularly exciting challenge, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes."