Christian Horner looks confidently at the future of Red Bull Racing. The Austrian racing team will start running its own engine in two years, but there is still plenty of work to be done by the people in Milton Keynes. In addition, the engine project must succeed, which is a major risk for Red Bull. In any case, Horner is currently pleased with the progress that Red Bull Powertrains has managed to make.
At the end of the 2021 season, Honda decided to leave Formula 1. The Japanese engine supplier has already reached an agreement with Aston Martin before the new regulations come into effect. Red Bull ultimately decided to develop its own power sources and the Austrian racing team will run its own engine for the first time in 2026. Red Bull Powertrains does receive help from Ford in the development phase.
It is very busy behind the scenes at Red Bull. The focus is of course on the upcoming season, but the team is also working on the long term. “It’s busy, there are still 24 months before our engine is screwed into the back of the RB22,” says Horner at PlanetF1. ‘That’s not very long in the world of Formula 1, so there is still a lot to do in a very short period of time. Yet I am convinced that we have the right people and that we can achieve it.’
In recent years, some reports have emerged about the progress of the Red Bull Powertrains engine. However, Horner does not want to reveal what stage the engine’s development is at. ‘We still have a lot of ground to make up, because we compete with manufacturers who have decades of experience. Thirty months ago this project was still in the start-up phase. So what has been achieved in thirteen months is extraordinary.”
Horner: ‘It’s not just about Max’
The risk that Red Bull has taken is enormous. If the project proves unsuccessful, the team will be on their own. “We have made our strategic decision for the future and we have to make it work.” If Red Bull loses its competitiveness, the team also runs the risk of losing Max Verstappen at the end of his contract. ‘I don’t think it’s just about Max. We are all very impatient in Formula 1. Everyone wants to be competitive,” said Horner.
