Nelsinho Piquet heats up the atmosphere in the Red Bull garage: “Max is enthusiastic about the car”

Red Bull among the special observers of the Bahrain tests The 2026 Formula 1 season is really about to start with the first pre-season tests in Bahrain, from which we expect to be able to draw the first conclusions at least on the preparatory work carried out by the teams in view of the biggest technical revolution in the history of GPs (here is an essential guide to survive the six days of testing in Sakhir). And if it is inevitable that the spotlight is focused mainly on Mercedes and the Mercedes-powered teams – including the reigning champions McLaren – due to suspicions about the power unit, but also, as always, on Ferrari, facing the winter with the lights off and with very few proclamations is Red Bull. This is how Nelsinho Piquet raised the temperature in the Milton Keynes garage, who spoke positively about Max Verstappen’s impressions after the shakedown in Barcelona in the Pelas Pistas podcast. Why Max Verstappen is enthusiastic about the RB22 In addition to being the son of three-time world champion Nelson Piquet, Nelson Jr is a former Formula 1 driver who raced 28 GPs between 2008 and 2009 (one of which was very, very famous and still discussed today), won the first historic Formula E championship and is today particularly reliable on matters relating to the Dutchman given that he is his brother-in-law, that is, brother of Kelly, Max Verstappen’s partner and mother of their first daughter Lily. “Max was amazed – explains the 40-year-old Brazilian – at how much the team had managed to achieve with the new car. He is sometimes a bit pessimistic, but in this case he noticed that they managed to complete more than 100 laps straight away. He was enthusiastic about how much the car had managed to do since it left the pits”. “The balance of power on the track is not yet clear – adds Piquet Jr – because the teams have slowed down in corners to avoid political problems with the FIA. The Federation is keeping an eye on the teams that seem to have a significant advantage, so many teams have slowed down considerably. So it is difficult to say anything in terms of performance after the Barcelona tests, given that everyone held back a bit. In particular, according to rumours, Mercedes technology may have developed more than others, but they too did not show off. In any case, Max Verstappen was positively surprised, especially by the number of laps that the Red Bull managed to complete from the moment it left the garage.”