16/09/2025 15:40
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has described the Red Bull
Powertrains project as "crazy" as the squad prepares for a new era.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit is preparing for the 2026 campaign,
which will be held under fresh technical regulations. As well as
the chassis, the power unit will undergo a significant change. Red
Bull is constructing its own engine for the first time, working in
association with Ford. With such a mammoth change coming to the
regulations, it creates the possibility for one team to spring a
healthy lead over the rest of the competition. Mekies highlighted
that he is wary of the challenge of coming up against the
manufacturers who have been designing engines for decades. "We
think it is an Everest that we're trying to climb," Mekies told Sky
F1 . "It's a crazy project, it's a crazy challenge. "It fits so
well with what Red Bull, what Ford is. That's exactly how we're
looking at that challenge. "It's a massive undertaking to go into.
We don't know where we are to compare to the competitions," he
said. "We are respectful enough of the competition to say, 'if
these guys have been doing it for 50, 60 or 70 years, it's starting
from zero, getting all our people, getting all the process right,
all the infrastructure and it is going to take some time'. "We do
it the Red Bull-Ford way and therefore we do it at a top level in
every area." Mekies insisted that the initial performance that is
on display during testing at the start of next year will not define
the upcoming era. "We have incredibly good people that are starting
to bond together in Red Bull Racing, with Ford Racing," he said.
"It's going to be a journey. "It's not about who is going to be the
best team in Barcelona testing in January, but it's about who will
get the project right and who will develop the project."
