Red Bull admits F1 engine countdown is “nerve-wracking” and “exciting”

Red Bull says it is “nerve-wracking” and “exciting” to think that it is just two years away from the huge challenge of racing with its own engine in Formula 1.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit has been the dominant squad in the current rules era, having taken drivers’ and constructors’ championship doubles in both 2022 and 2023.

However, it is embarking on something totally new for the next regulations set as it has committed to designing and manufacturing its own power unit.

It has invested heavily to get its new Red Bull Powertrains division up and running, and has been on a big recruitment drive to ensure it has the personnel it needs to be competitive.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is well aware of the scale of the challenge that his outfit has taken on for the first time in its history, but says it is not something it is afraid of.

Asked, however, if there was an element of trepidation about what laid ahead, especially with the team enjoying unprecedented success with Honda right now, Horner said: “Yeah, but that's life, isn't it? Nothing lasts forever. You just got to keep evolving.”

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Red Bull Racing RB19, engine

Red Bull elected to go down the route of producing its own engine following Honda’s initial intention to quit F1 – something that the Japanese manufacturer has now gone back on.

And while the powertrains project has required a huge expenditure, Horner says one of the key attractions of producing its own engine is that it is not reliant on the performance of anyone else to achieve success.

“At the moment we don't want this season to stop,” he said. “But 2026, it's the next chapter for us, and it's taking control of the one bit of variable that we've had.

“I don't think people perhaps comprehend the scale of the challenge that we've taken on for 2026. But the way the team is attacking it is exactly the same way that we have with the chassis.

“We've got two years which seems like a long way away, but we've pretty much got 100 weeks now to when we're rolling down the pitlane with a Red Bull-designed and manufactured engine in the back of the car. So that's nerve wracking and exciting all at once.

“But we're on a good trajectory. We have got some great people involved, and we have got a great culture. We're looking forward, and I'm looking forward, to it.”