Red Bull faces first major engine problem in Bahrain Test following Cars…read more
Red Bull’s opening day of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain delivered encouraging performance signs, but the team’s new power unit project encountered its first significant setback, as an issue affecting the RBPT-Ford engine package emerged during running at Sakhir.
While the headline pace from the senior Red Bull outfit looked strong, attention shifted to sister team Racing Bulls after a technical concern was detected with its RBPT-Ford power unit. The problem surfaced after the morning session and ultimately prevented rookie driver Arvid Lindblad from returning to the track for the afternoon programme.
Lindblad had completed a solid workload earlier in the day, logging 75 laps and gathering valuable data as part of his testing schedule. However, plans for further running were cancelled once engineers identified a potential fault and began a detailed investigation. As a precautionary measure, the car was kept in the garage while checks were carried out, sacrificing track time in order to better understand the root cause of the issue.
Despite the disruption on the Racing Bulls side, the main Red Bull Racing operation avoided any immediate impact from the same concern. Reigning front-runner Max Verstappen completed an extensive programme without interruption and recorded the highest lap count of the day, circulating 136 times around the Bahrain International Circuit. His productivity underlined both the baseline reliability and operational readiness of the senior team’s package, at least in its current configuration.
On the timesheets, Verstappen ended the day second fastest overall, narrowly behind Lando Norris, who set the benchmark lap. Even so, Red Bull’s long-run consistency and Verstappen’s ability to maintain competitive pace across multiple stints drew attention from rival teams up and down the pit lane.
The early showing prompted comments from Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who acknowledged that his squad had struggled to replicate the same level of energy deployment and straight-line effectiveness demonstrated by the RBPT-Ford-powered Red Bull. According to Wolff, the way Red Bull managed its energy systems and delivered pace across runs stood out as a key differentiator on the opening day.
The contrast between the two affiliated teams — one completing a heavy run plan and the other sidelined by a suspected engine-related issue — highlights the different development paths and risk profiles present even within closely connected operations. Although both teams draw from the same power unit programme, differences in installation, cooling, mapping, or component batches can sometimes produce team-specific problems during early test phases.
Driver line-ups are set to rotate for the following day of testing, meaning neither Verstappen nor Lindblad is scheduled to be behind the wheel on Thursday. Red Bull will hand driving duties to Liam Lawson, who is due to take over full-day running responsibilities. Racing Bulls, meanwhile, will switch to Isack Hadjar as they continue evaluating their package and gathering data — assuming the earlier power unit concern is resolved in time.
Pre-season testing is designed precisely to uncover such weaknesses before the championship begins, and teams often treat these early issues as valuable learning opportunities rather than outright crises. Engineers will now be focused on determining whether the Racing Bulls problem was an isolated component failure, a systems integration fault, or something that could require broader preventative action.
For Red Bull’s primary squad, the opening day still delivered reassurance through strong lap counts, competitive pace, and smooth execution. But the emergence of an engine-related question within the wider RBPT-Ford programme serves as an early reminder that new technical partnerships and evolving power unit projects can face unexpected hurdles — even when the stopwatch looks promising.
