“Super exciting project,” Christian Horner excited ahead of Red Bull’s new powertrains project for the 2026 season
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Christian Horner the Red Bull team Principal has recently confirmed that the Red Bull team is going to test its 2026 engine at some point during the 2022 season.
Red Bull’s partnership with Honda came to an end last season and ever since then the work that has been going on in the Red Bull factories is being done with very less involvement from the Honda group. The Japanese manufacturer is going to stay with the team in some capacity till 2023 after which Red Bull will be totally on its own when it comes to developing powertrains.
From the current season onwards Formula One has gone into an engine freeze till 2026 and at the moment there are only four-engine suppliers in the sport in the form of Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, and Honda which has been rebranded to Red Bull powertrains.
On the team’s progress in becoming fully independent, team principal Christian Horner said it is a “super exciting project.”
“We will move into our new facility in May and the first Red Bull engine will run on the dyno by the end of the year.”
“So they’re making great progress. It’s exciting times, it’s a super exciting project.”
“We’ve attracted some phenomenal talent from all corners of the industry, and it’s a new chapter. But 2026, whilst it seems a long way away, it’s actually a lot closer than you think.”
There are rumors flying around in the paddock that Red Bull could get into a partnership with Porsche from 2026 onwards if the manufacturer can join F1, Audi is also believed to be in the mix.
Christian Horner: Red Bull powertrains will be for 2026
As a new power unit supplier in 2026, Red Bull will be afforded some concessions but Horner feels these are “modest.”
“The framework that actually exists within the power unit regulations is reasonable from a newcomer status perspective, which obviously Red Bull Powertrains will be for 2026,” he said.
“I think that it’s modest hours and it’s modest… I think there’s $10million in the first two years and $5million in the third year as an allowance for a newcomer.”
Christian Horner has suggested that the figure was “restrictive” and said the competitors have had decades more experience working on their engines.
“Now, when you look at our competitors, that in some cases have obviously had 70 years of investment on the engine side, to think that you can have a facility fully operational and equipped within the next nine months or eight months is unrealistic.”
“So that’s something that needs to be looked at but as far as our own preparation, we are on target.”
Christian is optimistic about the progress that Red Bull is making with its powertrains but has stressed that they should not make the mistake of getting ahead of themselves and should stick to doing things the way they know best.
Horner knows that it is very difficult to set up a fully operational facility in 8-9 months but is hopeful that their “on schedule” progress will reap good rewards for the team in the future.
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Rishabh Negi
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