Max Verstappen responds after Russell, Hamilton air Red Bull ‘suspicions’

Max Verstappen has insisted that he has “no idea” where Red Bull stands in the F1 2026 pecking order on the eve of the Australian Grand Prix, claiming the RB22 is “not the quickest” car on the grid.

It comes after Mercedes driver George Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton warned that Red Bull is yet to show its true hand with the RB22.

Max Verstappen: Red Bull ‘not the quickest’ ahead of Australian Grand Prix

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Red Bull, which is producing its own engines for the first time this season, enjoyed an encouraging pre-season with the Red Bull Powertrains unit winning many admirers in the paddock.

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, claimed in the early stages of testing that Red Bull was a second per lap faster than its rivals on the straights due to its deployment, with Williams driver Carlos Sainz remarking that the RBPT engine was “a clear step” ahead.

Mercedes and Ferrari are widely thought to be the leading contenders for victory in Melbourne this weekend, with Red Bull and reigning constructors’ champions McLaren evenly matched behind.

Russell was quoted on Thursday in Melbourne as saying that Red Bull looked “suspiciously slow” in Bahrain last month, claiming the RB22 mysteriously dropped 0.7 seconds of lap time between the first and second tests in Sakhir.

Russell’s concerns were echoed by Hamilton, who told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets that “the full, unleashed Red Bull” has not yet appeared.

Asked if Russell’s claims are fair, and whether he is also suspicious of the pace of other teams, Verstappen told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets at Albert Park: “No, no. I don’t know. I don’t really think about those things.

“I just focus on what we do here and I’m not really too bothered what other teams do and what other people say.”

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Asked if he it is realistic for Red Bull to target the podium and the victory in Melbourne, he replied: “I have no idea!

“I’m very happy with what we did in pre-season. It’s been, I think, a really great and proud moment for everyone how the whole project came together between the engine and the car.

“I was really positively surprised with how everything felt. Also, the rule changes have been really complex, I think, for everyone.

“But in terms of the feeling in the car, driving experience between the engine and the car, it was good.

“Of course, I’ve had my say on the other things that I didn’t like, but what happened here within the team has been really, really good, so we’re very happy with that.

“And now, of course, looking on the performance side of things, I think we want to be a little bit faster. Naturally, I think everyone always wants to be faster.

“But, from the things that I think we learned in Bahrain at least, we’re not the quickest.

“But I have no idea. We’ll just see where we are here to start with.”

Additional reporting by Mat Coch

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