P1racenews AI automatic summary:
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has highlighted the performance of rival team Red Bull’s first in-house F1 engine as a surprise of the 2026 pre-season so far
McLaren CEO Zak Brown praised the performance of the new Red Bull-Ford Formula 1 engine at the recent Barcelona pre-season shakedown test, labeling it as “very, very strong.”
During the test, the fastest car powered by this engine, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, finished only seventh and 1.238s behind the leading time set by Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari.
Although headline times are not definitive, the Red Bull-Ford engine displayed impressive reliability and performance, showcasing promising signs for the upcoming season.
Brown and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella commended Red Bull’s engine, placing it among the top suppliers such as Mercedes and Ferrari, who also had a strong start.
Amidst speculation about Mercedes potentially circumventing engine compression rules, Brown dismissed these claims as F1 politics, asserting that Mercedes complies with all regulations.
He reassured that any rule changes would not exclude Mercedes-powered teams like McLaren from competing, emphasizing confidence in the fairness of the competition.
