Isack Hadjar recalls his surprise on his first laps with Red Bull’s engine

Isack Hadjar has revealed his reaction after his first lap with the Formula 1 engine developed by Red Bull. That initial experience in Barcelona left him pessimistic. “I was like, wow, this is going to be a long season,” he recalled. Hadjar says things improved quickly afterwards, and that he may not yet fully appreciate how impressive the work has been.

The contrast with the power unit’s current performances is striking. Hadjar says the project was at a very different stage at the beginning of the year. Red Bull’s internal combustion engine has since been ranked by the FIA as the best in the field. Red Bull and Ford have also surprised with the way they made an immediate impact in their debut season, the project’s wider context notes.

That progress has been backed by significant investment. Red Bull has put money into its facilities and the team led by Ben Hodgkinson, which includes numerous recruits from Mercedes. Hadjar remembers that when he joined the junior team, there was only Red Bull Racing; a few months later, two large buildings had appeared and the project had taken shape.

The driver is pleased with the work being done by the team, while pointing out that drivers can have more influence over chassis development through feedback and preferences than they can over an engine. In that area, they have to rely on the team. Hadjar says he is comfortable doing so: Red Bull has the resources to deliver a good engine after investing heavily in it.

The results have also drawn praise from Christian Horner. Red Bull’s victory in Malaysia was its first win of the 2026 Formula 1 season and its first with its own power unit. Horner recalled that five years ago, the Powertrains project was still “a hole in the ground”. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, says he approached 2026 with neither extreme optimism nor pessimism. He said things could have been much worse, referring to the current struggles of Honda, Red Bull’s former engine partner.