Pierre Wache after first week of pre-season testing: 'Room for improvement'

Published on 13 February 2026 by Yvonne Huijs

Pierre Waché, Technical Director of Oracle Red Bull Racing, reflects on the first test week in Bahrain for the new Formula 1 season: “It has been a positive week, running a full day with Max, with plenty of testing time as we worked on understanding the car and the direction to go in with the power unit. Unfortunately, on day two we had some problems with the hydraulics on the chassis side, which compromised Isack’s running in the morning but we were able to recover this in the afternoon. This morning with Max we evaluated set-ups and saw some good direction and this was similar with Isack this afternoon, so it's been quite positive with the mileage done this week."

Waché continues: "We need to make sure the car continues to develop a lot more to improve the issue on the balance side and we know that there is a lot of room for improvement. Our drivers are very motivated and have given us a lot of feedback on where we can improve the car and how we can change the direction of development. In general, Red Bull Ford Powertrains has done a remarkable job as a start-up; in three and a half years we have created a power unit and have it out running on track, which is fantastic. The second step is to see where we are sitting compared to others and improve. There were a few teams which were clearly very quick today and it looks like we are behind, so there is still a lot to improve. Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari are there at the top. It is a massive learning curve, there are plenty of unknowns and a lot to do. We have been evaluating our weaknesses and strengths and are just focusing on improving the car. We go into next week looking at what we can bring to the car to make it better and solve the issues we have identified."