Max Verstappen has dropped the biggest bombshell of the 2026 pre-season so far.

After Red Bull’s first public running of the RB22 during the Barcelona private test, the four-time world champion spoke candidly for the first time about Adrian Newey’s radical design choices – and his verdict is clear: “This changes everything.”

In a wide-ranging interview with Sky Sports F1 immediately after his Day 1 stint, Verstappen did not hold back on the car’s most talked-about feature: the ultra-narrow sidepods with tiny air intakes that have left the entire paddock stunned.

“When I first sat in it and felt the balance, I knew we had something special,” Verstappen said, still wearing his helmet liner and race suit. “The sidepods are tiny – smaller than anything we’ve ever run. Everyone’s asking ‘how is that possible?’ But it works. The cooling is managed in a completely different way. This changes everything about how we attack corners and straights. I’m excited – really excited.”

The RB22’s sidepod inlets are dramatically reduced in size compared to every other 2026 car on track. While Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren have opted for larger openings to guarantee cooling for the new 50/50 ICE-electric power units, Red Bull has gone the opposite route – betting on clever airflow management to slash drag while still keeping temperatures under control.

Verstappen confirmed the team’s confidence in the concept:

“We’re not taking stupid risks. We’ve tested this concept for months in the simulator and on the dyno. The upper inlet, the way the air is routed, the rear outlets – it’s all designed to work together. In the dry this morning I felt the car was alive. In the wet this afternoon it was even better. The balance is there from lap one. That’s rare for a new regs car.”

Technical experts have already nicknamed the rear-facing hot air outlets “cannon exits” because they expel heat in a way that energizes the diffuser and rear wing flow, potentially creating extra downforce while reducing drag. Verstappen hinted that the system is delivering exactly what the team hoped:

“You can feel the car breathing. The drag is lower, the top speed is higher, but we’re not sacrificing grip. It’s a proper step forward. The other teams will have to react – and they will.”

The update comes at a pivotal moment. Red Bull dominated the 2025 season with Verstappen clinching his fourth consecutive title, but the 2026 reset – new power units, active aero, sustainable fuels and slashed downforce – levels the field dramatically. Every tenth counts.

Rival reactions have been swift and sharp. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, whose team is already locked in a fierce battle with Red Bull, was blunt:

“They’re pushing every limit. If it works, it’s genius. If it doesn’t, it’s a disaster. We’ll see in Melbourne.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was more cautious: “We’ve seen radical concepts before. Sometimes they win championships, sometimes they blow up on lap 3. Red Bull is Red Bull – they don’t do things by half.”

Ferrari, meanwhile, has taken a more conventional path with larger sidepod inlets. Charles Leclerc, who was fastest on Day 1 for the Scuderia, admitted: “Red Bull’s car looks very different. We’ll know more when we race them.”

The FIA is monitoring closely. While the sidepod design passed all static homologation checks, questions remain about dynamic cooling performance under race conditions. No formal protest has been lodged yet – but the paddock is watching every lap.

Verstappen ended the interview with a confident smile:

“I don’t care what the others think right now. I know what I feel in the car. This thing is quick. And it’s only going to get quicker. Bring on Australia.”

With testing running until January 30 and the season opener in Melbourne just weeks away, Red Bull’s RB22 has already rewritten the script for 2026.

Tiny sidepods. Massive ambition. And Max Verstappen believes it changes everything.

The new era starts here – and it starts fast.