Red Bull targets 'best talent' as it ramps up F1 engine division

The team has broken ground on construction of a new facility that will become the centrepiece of its Red Bull Powertrains division.

As Red Bull ramps up efforts ahead of its takeover of the Honda engine project from next year, team boss and powertrain CEO Christian Horner has revealed how it’s not holding back in investment or effort to ensure it becomes a success.

With Red Bull having been renowned over the years for producing one of the best chassis, he wants the team to achieve a similar reputation with its engine.

Key to Red Bull’s chassis progress was the luring of tech chief Adrian Newey, and Horner says landing top talent on the engine front is a vital part of his plan too.

“We will be applying exactly the same philosophy that we did to the chassis side,” Horner told Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview.

“So the intention, exactly as I did with the chassis, is to make sure we attract the right talent and the best talent.

Red Bull is constructing a new bespoke engine factory as part of its Milton Keynes operation. Work began a few days ago on transforming the current land and facility that is there right now and building a new fit-for-purpose structure.

Horner felt it important Red Bull had its engine facility as close to its chassis operation as possible, which will put it alongside Ferrari as the only outfit with such a geographical closeness between its car/powerunit operations.

“At the end of the day, F1 is still a team sport," he added. "It's a people sport. And that's one of the fundamental reasons that we’re housing our facility on site within the campus in Milton Keynes. It’s to make sure that there is this seamless integration between powerunit and chassis.”

While Red Bull is beginning its project by taking over the Honda engine, and will keep some of the Japanese manufacturer’s current staff, its longer term focus is on producing a new power unit for the 2025 regulations.

Horner said that Red Bull having control of both chassis and engine would take the team to the next level.

“It's tremendously exciting,” he said. “Obviously with the engine freeze it was important as a safeguard for what will effectively be an interim period. But for the new engine, whenever that comes, potentially 2025, we're obviously building up a structure.

“We're going to inherit some great people and talent from Honda, but we are absolutely committed to getting the right people in the right roles in an efficient manner that integrates fully with the chassis side of the business.”