Christian Horner claims Max Verstappen ‘in the loop’ over Red Bull Powertrains development

Christian Horner made it clear that Max Verstappen was happy with the development of Red Bull Ford Powertrains so far.

Christian Horner claims Max Verstappen ‘in the loop’ over Red Bull Powertrains development

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen (Via: Imago)

Red Bull Racing will race with its in-house power units from 2026. The Austrian team has partnered with Ford for this ambitious project. Many in the paddock are skeptical over this development. However, Christian Horner asserted that Max Verstappen was eager to see Red Bull Powertrains succeed.

There were rumors that Max Verstappen could join Mercedes if Red Bull Powertrains fails to convince him for 2026. Now, Christian Horner has stated that the Dutchman is always in the loop over the power unit development. Moreover, Verstappen often visits the factory and sees more progress being made at every instance.

We keep him in the loop and every time he comes round he sees more running engines and more progress.
Christian Horner said, as reported by motorsport-total
YouTube video

Christian Horner reckoned that the reigning world champion was part of this journey at Red Bull. As Max Verstappen supported the team’s decision to develop its own engines for F1’s 2026 regulations. The Red Bull team boss claimed that he was excited to have his driver so invested into such an important project for Milton Keynes.

FS Video
He is part of this journey and I actually find that quite exciting. He shows a lot of interest in the development.
Christian Horner stated
RELATED
Red Bull reportedly ignored Adrian Newey’s advice while building RB20
Adrian Newey and Christian Horner (via IMAGO)

Christian Horner claims Max Verstappen’s interest in powertrains goes back to his ‘karting days’

Max Verstappen is one of the most dedicated racing drivers in recent history. The three-time world champion leaves no stone unturned in a bid to extract the maximum out of the car. Christian Horner believed that Verstappen’s focus on Red Bull Powertrains was similar to his karting days when the Dutchman saw the fine tuning of engines.

It almost goes back to his karting days and the engine tuning back then.
Christian Horner explained
Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Red Bull Powertrains is undoubtedly a massive project. Despite rumors, Helmut Marko has asserted that everything is on schedule at Milton Keynes. Moreover, Ford has increased its involvement to further strengthen Red Bull’s prospects. Subsequently, Christian Horner highlighted that this was the biggest single investment made by the Austrian giant in motorsport.

This is the biggest single investment Red Bull has ever made in motorsport.
Christian Horner declared

Certainly, Red Bull needs its in-house powertrains division to yield results from 2026. Milton Keynes has no backup options if this falls apart. However, it seems that Horner and his squad have complete faith in this project. As such, fans would be hoping to see Max Verstappen win in F1 with Red Bull engines in the back of his car.

In case you missed it: