Verstappen Battles Illness at Barcelona Test, Eyes Fifth Title in 2026 F1 Reset

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Max Verstappen, the four-time Formula 1 world champion, dominated headlines this week with his key role in Red Bulls challenging Barcelona shakedown test for the all-new 2026 cars. RacingNews365 reports that Verstappen revealed hed been battling illness throughout the five-day private test at Circuit de Catalunya, sounding hoarse in post-session interviews while insisting by seasons start on March 8 in Australia, hell be fully recovered. Despite limited track time early on due to mixed weather, teammate Isack Hadjars heavy Tuesday crash, and repair delays, he wrapped up Red Bulls program Friday with a strong 118 laps and the fifth-quickest time of 1 minute 17.586 seconds.

Motorsport.com quotes Verstappen candidly admitting theres still quite a bit of work to do on the new Red Bull Ford Powertrain, their first in-house engine debut after 21 years in F1, though he called the week a good start with solid mileage under the complex 2026 regs emphasizing energy management. Formula1.com captured his verdict as overall pretty decent, praising the teams data haul despite areas needing improvement, while ESPN sources noted he topped Tuesdays wet morning session at 1:19.578 ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc before handing over.

Sky Sports highlighted Red Bulls surprisingly smooth power unit reliability, with Hadjar logging 108 laps Monday, bucking pre-test skepticism around their crazy pursuit as Laurent Mekies put it last year. Off-track, GMM via GPTours revealed Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie organizers shifted their 2026 calendar to accommodate a potential Verstappen appearance, signaling his enduring pull in endurance racing circles. No fresh public outings or social media buzz emerged, but insiders whisper his calm demeanor amid Mercedes early pace sets up high-stakes Bahrain tests February 11-13 and 18-20. Verstappen remains Red Bulls anchor, eyeing a fifth title in this reset era where Ferrari and Mercedes flex early muscle.

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