Red Bull Ford's first high-altitude test went better than feared, but Max Verstappen still walked away from Mexico wanting answers. The Dutchman complained over the radio about erratic engine braking behavior from the DM01 power unit — the same inconsistency that plagued him in Austin. "The engine just decides by itself what to do," Verstappen said afterward, half-joking that he needs a pre-race conversation with the power unit to make it behave. Team principal Laurent Mekies called the Mexico performance a pass with flying colors, especially given the 2,286-meter altitude that had manufacturers worried about turbo lag and oxygen starvation in the new MGU-H-less 2026 regs. The upside: Red Bull's race starts were shockingly good despite the long run to Turn 1. Mekies acknowledged the team isn't benchmark yet on launches, but progress is visible. Whether the engine braking gremlins persist in Brazil will tell whether this is a cooling issue or something deeper.
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