Max Verstappen wants his F1 crown back in 2026, but it all comes down to whether Red Bull’s brand-new engine is up to the challenge.

Last year, Verstappen’s winning streak finally ended. He missed a fifth straight title by just two points. Lando Norris, driving for McLaren, edged him out to take his first championship—even though Verstappen racked up the most wins and poles. Weirdly, Max never actually led the standings at any point in 2025. That hadn’t happened to him since 2020. Still, he wrapped up the season with eight Grand Prix wins and eight poles, while Red Bull kept pushing upgrades till the bitter end.

But there was a risk. Red Bull’s focus on the 2025 car might have hurt their 2026 project. Team boss Laurent Mekies tried to steer them away from the slide they’d started under Christian Horner, but he wasn’t convinced it made sense to throw everything at 2026 like the other teams.

And that might become a real problem if Red Bull’s standards slip. Ferrari stopped developing their 2025 car as early as April, and McLaren switched focus to 2026 regulations by July. Pretty much everyone else jumped on the new rules early, since F1 is changing just about everything—engines, aero, chassis, tyres. It’s the biggest shake-up the sport’s ever seen.

Red Bull has even more on their plate. For the first time, they’ll build their own engine instead of buying from someone else. Honda planned to leave but then signed up as Aston Martin’s factory partner, which left Horner—while he was still around—scrambling to launch Red Bull Powertrains.

Jan Lammers, who’s been around the block in F1 and at Le Mans, thinks Red Bull would actually be thrilled just to land in the top three next year. He’s not so sure Verstappen would settle for that. “I think Red Bull would be very happy if they could immediately run in the top six,” Lammers told RacingNews365. “If they can get into that top three, that’s a good start. I don’t know where Max draws the line for himself.”

Red Bull’s first in-house engine will run in both their main team and Racing Bulls in 2026. They’ve brought Ford on as a technical partner to help with the hybrid side of things. Building an engine for a brand-new ruleset is a massive leap for them—they’re used to being a customer, not starting from scratch. Now they have to nail a power unit that splits its energy 50/50 between electric and combustion, and it runs on advanced sustainable fuels.

To boost their odds, Red Bull poached a bunch of engine experts from Mercedes. That move has other teams a bit nervous, suspecting Red Bull might have found a loophole in the new engine rules.

So far, things don’t look too bad. The first signs from last week’s shakedown test in Barcelona were promising for their RBPT DM01 unit. But Red Bull isn’t satisfied yet. They’re still working out the kinks in how the engine delivers its power, after spotting a few rough edges during the first pre-season test of 2026.

McLaren’s IndyCar team just pulled the covers off its 2026 liveries and showed off a brand-new American headquarters, hoping to ride the momentum from its best season yet.

Last year, the US side of the Papaya crew had a lot to cheer about. Pato O’Ward, piloting car No. 5, snagged two wins and finished second in the championship. Christian Lundgaard, who’s joining full-time in 2025, chipped in with a fifth-place finish, helping cement McLaren’s breakout year. The team hit a record 12 podiums—no small feat.

Nolan Siegel spent his rookie year learning the ropes with the three-car squad. Now, with the bar set higher, McLaren needs every bit of firepower from its drivers if it wants to take the fight to Alex Palou and Ganassi. Palou clinched the 2025 title with two races left on the calendar, so the challenge is real.

The new McLaren Racing Centre is a big piece of the puzzle. They bought the facility from Andretti, who’s shifting its IndyCar operation elsewhere. Originally built in 1997 for Team Green (which eventually became Andretti), the place got a massive facelift after McLaren moved in last year—expanding from 30,000 to 86,000 square feet.

Meanwhile, Andretti had planned to house its IndyCar team alongside the Cadillac Grand Prix project (both under the TWG Motorsports banner) at a custom-built spot in Fishers, Indiana. But with F1’s cost cap rules kicking in, Andretti had to change course and ended up transforming the old Indianapolis Star newspaper HQ into a new base for its US single-seater and Formula E teams.

“We’re really excited to be working out of the McLaren Racing Centre, with all the space, tech, and infrastructure finally under one roof,” said Tony Kanaan, the McLaren IndyCar boss.

“Nothing’s changed for us—growth, winning the Indy 500, and chasing the championship are still the goals. We set a high standard in 2025, and we’re aiming even higher this season. The team’s ready for the fight.”

McLaren streamed the launch live on YouTube, with veteran Fox reporter Jamie Little hosting. Fox has jumped into the spotlight since grabbing the IndyCar broadcast rights for 2025.

Fox’s ties to US President Donald Trump run deep. Recently, Trump announced a special IndyCar street race around Washington, D.C., to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. He made it official in the Oval Office, with series owner Roger Penske and Fox CEO Eric Shanks sitting in.

“IndyCar racing is a source of pride and entertainment for our nation, which is why I am pleased to announce the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.,” President Trump said in the executive order.

“This race, the first of its kind in our nation’s capital near the National Mall, will show off the majesty of our great city as drivers race past our iconic monuments to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.”

The new IndyCar season kicks off March 1 in St. Petersburg. If the buzz is anything to go by, 2026 could draw more fans to the championship than we’ve seen in years.