Red Bull are already confident in their engine which will be coming in from 2026.
Dutch newspaper, De Limburger, visited the new Red Bull factory to see how they are getting on with their journey to making their own engines.
Red Bull made the decision to make their own engines when Honda left the sport at the end of the 2021 season. They have now built a new factory and have employed approximately 300 staff, fifty of which have come from the Mercedes team. Head of the department, Steve Brodie, explained to De Limburger:
“Mercedes has never done anything but build engines. At Red Bull, originally they were really only good at making a sticky sports drink. To build something from the ground up here and make it a success is what drives most people to choose this project. “
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Brodie continued to explain that although they are starting from the beginning, as opposed to the other teams on the grid who have been developing their engines for a number of years, Red Bull are extremely ambitious with their plans. He added:
“At Red Bull, if we do something, we either do it very well or not at all.”
Referring to a moment when seven-time champion, Lewis Hamilton, was forced to retire from a race due to lint getting into a cylinder, Brodie said:
“That is to prevent a lint, for example, from getting into a cylinder. That could have fatal consequences. Lewis Hamilton’s engine once broke down because of that.”
As testing has started on the first version of the engine, the team is keen for rivals Mercedes and Ferrari to know they are on track to deliver a competitive engine for the 2026 season. He continued:
“It can’t hurt if they also know at Mercedes and Ferrari that we are on the right track.”
