Max Verstappen addresses questions about the uncertainty around the Red Bull-Ford 2026 power unit

While addressing the uncertainty about the Red Bull-Ford power unit for the 2026 season, the three-time world champion Max Verstappen jokingly remarked that he would rather worry about 'being alive tomorrow' than anything else.

The Austrian team will embark on a new project as they will introduce their powertrains in partnership with Ford in the new engine regulations from the 2026 season. The world champions have enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Honda since 2019 and have been the dominant force since 2022.

However, the Japanese manufacturer's decision to first leave the sport at the end of 2021 and then supply power units to Aston Martin from 2026 freed up Red Bull to set up their own powertrains.

As per PlanetF1, Max Verstappen addressed the uncertainty around the powertrains project and joked:

“I mean, if I have to speculate about everything, I might be worried if I’m still alive tomorrow, right?”

The Dutch driver added that he was in close contact with team principal Christian Horner about the project, and said:

"I don’t really worry about that too much because I am in close contact with Christian about that. Everyone’s working flat out so there is no need to panic about that, and also it’s still not 2026.

"We know that it is a very big task, we don’t take that lightly of course, with so many well-established engine manufacturers."

Max Verstappen previews the Japanese GP after his Australian GP retirement

Max Verstappen stated that he was looking forward to racing in Suzuka after his retirement at the Australian GP due to rear right brake failure.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, the Red Bull driver said:

“I’m excited, it’s a track that I really enjoy. I know that I’m confident with the car, I feel good. Especially I think we shouldn’t have been on pole [in Melbourne] but the laps that we did were really good. So I just want to have a good weekend again and feel good with the car.”

Max Verstappen will hope for a quick recovery after his points-scoring streak came to an end in Melbourne on March 24 as he failed to finish a race in two years.

When F1 last raced in Suzuka, the three-time world champion was coming with a similar predicament as his ten-race win streak was over in Singapore. He dominated the weekend and destroyed his competition. Heading to Japan, Verstappen would hope for something similar this weekend as well.