The 2026 Australian Grand Prix held a major surprise for Red Bull: Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar started with a completely empty battery. A very rare situation linked to the new energy rules.
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The first weekend of the 2026 Formula 1 season highlighted one of the major challenges of the new power units: energy management. In Melbourne, Red Bull experienced it in the most brutal way.
At the start of the Australian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar indeed took to the track with a completely discharged battery. A situation far from ideal, as electrical energy now plays a key role in the performance and acceleration of the cars.
On the grid, Hadjar was nevertheless well placed. The Frenchman had qualified in third position, the best Red Bull on the grid. But from the first meters of the race, he lost two places to Arvid Lindblad and Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen, for his part, managed to gain a few positions during the first lap. However, both drivers were actually in the same situation: they no longer had any electrical energy available.
A problem related to the formation lap
Questioned after the race, Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies first responded with humor regarding this incident.
“We thought it would be more fun – we’re just not sure whether to tell them or not!” he said.
But behind the joke lay a technical reality: “Unfortunately, it’s true: they both started the race without a battery.”
According to him, this problem is directly linked to the constraints imposed by the new rules and the way drivers must prepare their cars during the formation lap.
“It is our responsibility to avoid finding ourselves in this situation. We were caught out by certain limitations in how it is possible to charge and discharge the battery during the formation lap.”
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During this lap preceding the start, drivers perform numerous accelerations and brakings to bring tires and brakes to the right temperature. But these maneuvers also consume a lot of energy.
“With these unusual behaviors – acceleration, braking, acceleration, braking – to heat the brakes and tires, we found ourselves in a situation where it was no longer possible to reach the charge level required for the start.”
A battery to rebuild from the first lap
Direct consequence: the drivers had to start the race by recharging their battery instead of attacking immediately.
“We had to rebuild that battery level during the first lap, which was obviously not very pleasant and left our drivers vulnerable.”
While Red Bull was the only team clearly caught out by this extreme scenario, Mekies acknowledges that other teams also encountered difficulties in reaching maximum charge.
Despite this unexpected episode, the Austrian team remains optimistic after this first weekend of competition: “The prevailing feeling is that we have confirmed that we are in the fight.”
Mekies notably highlights the work carried out at Milton Keynes in recent years to prepare for the arrival of the new rules.
“We are very proud of the work accomplished over the last three years and that done to prepare for this season, which allows us to be in the battle from the first race. Do we have the ambition and the obligation to do better? Yes. But being in the top four is a good starting point given the progress of the project.”
With the Chinese Grand Prix in their sights, Red Bull now hopes to avoid this type of mishap… and truly launch its season.
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