Zak Brown confirms Horner “Frankenstein” F1 cars prediction – The much anticipated big F1 technical regulation changes are now upon us, with all the teams bar Williams having tested their all new 2026 cars and powertrains behind closed doors in Barcelona. From the scant information released by the teams, the big four Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari remain out front, although Aston Martin failed make it out on track until the dying sessions of the week.
However, despite the hundreds of laps being completed at the Circuit de Catalunya suggesting the all new power trains are on the whole reliable, big questions remain over how the new hybrids which are powered 50% from the battery and 50% from the internal combustion engine will perform during qualifying and racing.
Back in the summer of 2023 when the power unit specifications were broadly finalised, the then Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, raised concerns that the specifications were in fact impractical. Simulations delivered back in Milton Keynes projected at a number of circuits, the energy recovery would not be sufficient to recharge the battery leaving the cars lacking in power.
Wolff mocks Red Bull powertrain programme
The result would see the drivers unnecessarily shifting down through the gears towards the end of a straight to force the combustion engine to generate more electrical power, acting as a kind of generator. Alternatively as the cars ran out of electrical charge along the straights, the drivers would need to lift and coast as they approached the next corner.
Christian Horner famously described this potential farce and compromised racing in poetic fashion, suggesting the all new regulations would deliver “Frankenstein” cars. He argued that by reducing the level of battery power by around 5-10% of the total output would solve the problem, although his comments were not received well in certain corners of the paddock.
With Red Bull attempting something no other F1 customer team has ever attempted before, in building their own powertrain, Toto Wolff mocked Horner following his prediction, claiming Red Bull were clearly behind schedule on their power unit project.
“I think what frightens him [Horner] more maybe is that his engine programme is not coming along and maybe he wants to kill it that way,” Wolff was widely reported as saying. “You always have to question what is the real motivation to say something like that.”
MORE F1 NEWS – Red Bull shakeup continues with more sacked employees ahead of 2026 season
“Big four” remain ahead of the field
Despite Horner leaving Red Bull suddenly last summer, he had clearly laid the groundwork to deliver what looks to be a competitive power unit. The Racing Bulls and Red Bull Racing laid down 623 laps in Barcelona and arch rival Zak Brown admits he was surprised at how competitive they seemed to be.
“It looks like the big four are the big four. Hard to know yet in what order,” said Brown speaking to the David Land You Tube channel. “If you went to Vegas today, I think Mercedes looks like the favourite sitting here right now, but a long way to go.
“Williams didn’t make it out. Aston [Martin] only got out at the very end, so you have no idea where Williams stands. I think the grid will be more spread out, which is to be expected in a new formula for a little bit. So last year in Abu Dhabi, I think a second covered the entire field. I would anticipate it being two or three seconds covers the entire field, but that’s normal,” added the McLaren F1 CEO.
Whilst a number of the drivers were skeptical about the new era of F1 following runs in their teams simulators, after the Barcelona test the drivers on the whole were positive about their first experience in the new cars and powertrains. Yet it has emerged that Horner’s predictions back in 2023 were on the money and Zak Brown is calling on the FIA to fine tune the new regulations.
MORE NEWS – Mercedes 2nd engine “trick” reported
Brown calls on the FIA to tweak the rules
“We’re going to have to learn how to race these cars a little bit differently, because they run out of deployment,” Brown states. “So I still think there’s some work to be done with the FIA to refine the rules to make sure that while there’s strategy in how you deploy the battery and the energy, that we’re not running out of energy at the end of straits and getting into lift and coast.”
The McLaren CEO continues: “I don’t think that will be visible to the fan, because we were three, four seconds off what was last year’s pace, but you can’t see that.” He went on to compliment the job done by Red Bull Powertrains who were expected by many F1 analysts to struggle compared to the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes who have been delivering F1 power units for three quarters of a century.
“The Red Bull engine was very strong,” Brown observed. “I think everyone was, let’s say, pleasantly surprised. I’d rather them not be as competitive, but impressed with what they’ve done, because they came out, they did a lot of miles, and they seem to be very competitive.”
The next test taking place in Bahrain 11-13 February, will feature official timing and TV coverage. Then the picture of how the teams are performing relative to one another will become more clear.
NEXT ARTICLE – Williams admit: “We still don’t known what went wrong” after missing Barcelona test
Williams confess they don’t know yet what happened to make them miss the Barcelona test – This week, Williams revealed their 2026 livery complete with partners adorning the historic blue colours of the Grove based Formula One team. They missed the Barcelona test last week in what many believe may prove disastrous for the British racing marque.
Missing a pre-season test is usually sign of big trouble ahead and Williams were the last team to do so back in 2019 when they were absent from the first 2.5 days in Barcelona. Prior to this, Force India (now Aston Martin) had a shocker of a pre-season, finding themselves absent from the first two complete tests in Jerez and Barcelona in 2015.
The same year the soon to be defunct Marrusia missed the entire pre-season along with the opening weekend in Melbourne, going on to score no points all year before a name change yo Manor…. CONTINUE TO READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
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