Max Verstappen pinpoints 'key' to unlocking huge Red Bull 2026 unknown

Max Verstappen believes the century of laps he racked up during the final day of F1's Barcelona shakedown will be "key" to helping Red Bull grow its understanding of its new engine.

On Friday in Barcelona, Verstappen tallied 118 laps of the track, posting a 1:17.586 as his best effort as Red Bull continues to learn about its new in-house Red Bull Powertrains-Ford engine.

Early signs of the RBPT product are that it is competitive and reliable, as Verstappen, who was ill during the week, and new team-mate Isack Hadjar put the RB22 through its paces, although running was disrupted on Tuesday with a crash for Hadjar.

Reflecting on the week of running, Verstappen explained how the laps he did on Friday were "key" as one of F1's two newest power unit manufacturers, the other being Audi, completed their first test.

"It has been nice to be back on track this week, and the first morning I had in the car, I couldn’t do too many laps because of the weather, but Friday was good," recalled Verstappen. 

"We did a lot of laps [on Friday], and that was really the key. We learned a lot, and there are, of course, still a lot of things that we want to look into, but it’s a good start. 

"So much work has gone into this power unit over the last few years, and to see it then go into the car and on the first day, immediately do so many laps was great to see. There were a lot of emotional faces in the garage, and that was very special. 

"Everything is still a work in progress, but we have hit the ground running quite well. We need time to understand the engine and make setup changes. You try to put as many laps on the board and try as many things as you can in the day. 

"I think we are doing that, and this is what this shakedown was about and what we will continue to do. It is a complicated formula for everyone to get right, which means there is still a lot of work to do before we head to Bahrain. 

"We will go there and keep the work going."