Last Updated on August 19 2025, 12:34 pm

Red Bull will enter uncharted territory in 2026 when it produces its own Formula 1 power units for the first time, through its new Red Bull Powertrains division in partnership with Ford. With Honda set to supply Aston Martin, and Audi preparing to join the grid by rebranding the historic Sauber team, the 2026 season will be remembered as one of the sport’s biggest shake-ups in “living memory,” according to Adrian Newey.

The task ahead is daunting. Christian Horner, in what turned out to be his final interview as team principal, admitted that developing Red Bull’s own engine represented the “biggest challenge” the team had faced since joining the grid in 2005. Few expect Red Bull to immediately outmuscle established giants like Mercedes or Ferrari. Yet, despite Horner’s caution, some believe the Milton Keynes squad will spring a surprise.

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya is convinced that Red Bull have the right ingredients to make their new venture competitive sooner than expected. “On the engine side Red Bull have the right people,” he said. “They took all the top people from Mercedes, the top people from Ferrari, people from everywhere. They have a massive amount of information. It takes time to collate and integrate, but I think they might surprise people with the power unit.”

 

 

 

 

Red Bull have recruited well

The process of developing the new 2026 power units has been long and protracted with the FIA initially setting up a working party for the next generation of F1 power back in 2017. Once the specifications were agreed, officials from F1’s governing body have been in regular contact with  the manufacturers, with some revealing candidly their progress whilst others have been more guarded over the state of their development.

This led to a report back in April, presumably emanating from the information gleaned by the FIA, that one manufacturer has “cracked” the new 2026 powertrain regulations and has clear water between themselves and the rest of the field. Further, another manufacturer is said to be struggling, having adopted a natural form of bio fuel, while the rest have opted for synthetic products instead.

Whilst Montoya backs the Red Bull power unit division, he expresses concern that the departure of Adrian Newey has left a vacuum. “Before, you had one guy, Adrian Newey, who made the final decision. Now everybody’s coming with new ideas. The guy leading the direction, Pierre Waché, is a different guy. What does Red Bull do now? You’re putting really good people in charge, but really good people with no experience of being in charge.”

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Departures may cause Milton Keynes difficulties

He suggests that with Horner, Newey and Jonathan Wheatley all leaving, Red Bull may require three to four years before they regain their former dominance. “It’s like in business. A new CEO comes in, it takes a year just to understand the problems. Then, maybe, you start flying.”

Horner himself was under no illusion about the challenge. “Who knows? To expect us to be ahead of Mercedes next year is unrealistic,” he admitted at Silverstone. “It would be embarrassing for Mercedes if we were, or for any manufacturer.” Instead, he framed Red Bull’s new power unit project as a long-term investment that would ultimately prove invaluable.

“What’s great is having it all under one roof; chassis engineers sitting next to engine engineers,” he explained. “That is priceless and will pay dividends. Maybe it won’t be in ’26, but ’27, ’28 and beyond—for Red Bull, long term, 100 per cent it is the right thing.”

F1: The automakers R&D workshop

 

 

 

Memories of Mercedes dominance

The memory of 2014 looms large. Mercedes seized control of Formula 1 when the hybrid era began, winning eight consecutive Constructors’ titles. Rivals spent years catching up, with some like Renault never fully recovering. That dominance was not just about a brilliant car, but about Mercedes being the only team to arrive at the new rules with a fully integrated, reliable and powerful engine programme. Red Bull, reliant on Renault at the time, found itself locked out of contention for half a decade. This time, the team is determined not to repeat that mistake.

On the one hand, Horner’s caution was refreshingly realistic. Expecting a brand-new manufacturer to arrive in 2026 and instantly topple Mercedes would be fantasy. On the other hand, Montoya’s optimism highlights the sheer scale of Red Bull’s recruitment drive. They have poached talent from Mercedes, Ferrari, and everywhere in between. If anyone can hit the ground running next season, it may well be them.

But what of leadership? Red Bull’s strength has always been its clarity of direction. Adrian Newey’s genius gave the team its compass. Horner, for all his controversies, gave it stability. Now, both are gone. Waché and the remaining technical team are undoubtedly brilliant, but as Montoya suggests, brilliance does not automatically translate into leadership.

F1 pipeline of new venues shrinks dramatically

 

 

 

Verstappen’s future hangs on RB powertrain division

The 2026 car will therefore be the most important Red Bull has ever built. If it flops, Verstappen will begin to look elsewhere, despite his current commitment through to 2028. If it flies, Red Bull will have proven they can do what no other F1 customer team has done – morph into a full blown manufacturer’s entry on the grid.

Red Bull remain uncertain how to solve their ongoing second driver difficulties, having promoted Yuki Tsunoda alongside Verstappen after Liam Lawson was give just two race weekends this year. Tsunoda has flopped like no other Red Bull driver before him and his lifelong racing sponsor Honda, is leaving for Aston Martin.

With Horner gone, its indubitably going to be Dr. Helmut Marko who decides the driver who will partner Max in 2026 and whilst Isack Hadjar may be the stand out rookie this year, Liam Lawson has closed him down in recent weeks and is now just two points behind his French-Algerian team mate.

Whatever the future for Red Bull Racing, this season, an era ended and a new one has begun. The key to Red Bull’s future success or failure, will be them retaining many disgruntled employees who are looking elsewhere since the brutal sacking of their twenty year long standing leader by the Austrian men in grey suits.

 

 

 

Vasseur defends Hamilton from Wolff accusation

Once King of the world of Formula One, Lewis Hamilton’s fall from grace has been meteoric. Having fought out a last lap decider which wold have crowned him the greatest F1 driver with the most championships of all time, Hamilton returned in 2022 a shadow of his former self.

In the four seasons since his dramatic defeat by Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi, Lewis has added just two Grand Prix wins to his previous collection of 103 Grand Prix victories and one of those was by default as his team mate was disqualified for technical infringements in Belgium last seasons.

His move to Ferrari was intended to put three years of abject misery behind him, yet Hamilton is suffering the worst season of his career so far. Hamilton has yet to participate in the champagne celebrations this year, although team mate Charles Leclerc now has five podiums to his name. The seven times champion is now just five race weekends from earning a most unwanted Ferrari record where he would become the Ferrari driver who goes the longest since his arrival in Maranello without finishing a Grand Prix on the podium…. READ MORE