Max Verstappen-led Red Bull facing “a huge undertaking” for 2026 season

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert believed that Max Verstappen-led Red Bull has a huge task ahead of it, regarding the 2026 F1 season. Next year will mark the dawn of a new era in the pinnacle of motorsport with 100% sustainable fuels.

Red Bull has suffered a massive drop in performance in the ongoing 2025 F1 season. After the first 14 rounds, Max Verstappen, with 187 points, is in third place in the drivers' standings, but is way behind Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, with 275 and 284 points, respectively.

In regard to 2026, Red Bull is developing the engine (Red Bull Powertrains) itself in a partnership with Ford, but Johnny Herbert believed that the outfit would struggle in comparison to Mercedes' engine.

Herbert said, via GPBlog:

"And now they've declined in a very short space of time and it's how they rediscover the right mindset to be able to change their mentality to move it in a direction that is going to be more beneficial for 2026. That is a huge undertaking to be able to, one produce a F1 engine with all the technology that's involved, and two, to make it as good or better than the very experienced Mercedes-Benz, for example."

Red Bull has proved to be the dominant team under the ongoing ground-effect regulations, and it is only this year that they have struggled to develop a championship-worthy car.

Johnny Herbert does not see Max Verstappen and Co. 'bouncing back' in 2026

F1 Grand Prix Of Hungary - Source: Getty

Alongside Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari, Red Bull is one of the top teams in the pinnacle of motorsport. In its history, since 2005, the outfit has amassed eight drivers' championships and six constructors' championships. Moreover, their star driver, Max Verstappen, has won four titles consecutively since 2021.

While Johnny Herbert did not see the Milton Keynes-based team developing a better engine than Mercedes in 2026, he also believed that they would find it extremely hard to 'bounce back' from their hardships in the ongoing 2025 F1 season. In line with this, he said, via the aforementioned source:

"But of course Red Bull are not going to be having any of that [advantage of being an engine manufacturer]. They're just going to be this badged Ford engine, but done in-house. And it's going to be interesting to see if they can do that. Can I see a bounce back next year? No."

2026 will witness challengers with around 30 kg less than the current ones. Red Bull, under its powertrains, will become the first team to both design and manufacture their engines, and considering this, several eyes will be on Max Verstappen and Co. next year.