Red Bull is investing huge resources in its new engine range. A state-of-the-art facility is being built in Milton Keynes to house the project.
Christian Horner, head of the F1 team and CEO of Powertrains, has made it clear that it is looking to hire the “best” people it can get, as it has set itself the goal of having its own engine from 2025 onwards develop.
Red Bull recently announced that it has hired long-time Mercedes head of mechanical engineering, Ben Hodgkinson, as its new technical director. More employees could follow.
Wolff isn’t too concerned about the situation, however, and believes he doesn’t need to start raising wages to keep Mercedes employees from being tempted by Red Bull.
“When you lose someone because of money, it may be important to look back at what the core is and what values are important,” said Wolff. “It’s not always just the best paycheck.
“We’re going to lose some, we’re going to win some. But at the end of the day I believe in the Mercedes philosophy and I believe that we are a really good place to work.
“It’s a place where there is a lot of pressure, but it is also a lot of fun. We can be proud of that and we have to rely on it.
“There will always be a back and forth. But let’s put it this way, I understand where Christian is from, he wants to build a structure and sometimes you have to write a big check there. But that’s fine.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Wolff believes that Red Bull is “pretty smart” with its engine plans as there are a number of options on how best to attack F1 when new engine rules come into play in 2025.
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“What Red Bull and Christian are doing is pretty smart, on the one hand to rely on their own strength and set up an engine department, and on the other hand to be able to fall back on Honda know-how and intellectual property.” “said Wolff.
“That is without closing the door to a major automobile manufacturer as a partner, which of course also benefits from the learning curve that Red Bull now has. This is actually a win-win situation. You cannot lose at all.”
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