Red Bull has been unstoppable since the cost cap era began. In 2022, they won an impressive 17 races. Max Verstappen won 15 of those GPs. But later, the Austrian outfit was able to do it even better next year. In 2023, the only team to beat Christian Horner’s team was Ferrari in the Singaporean Grand Prix. That’s the only race out of the 22 races that happened last year when a non-Red Bull team was able to win a race. Otherwise, the Milton Keynes team enjoyed another commanding title triumph. But let’s not forget that it was not Red Bull alone. Without the incredible Honda engines, this level of success would not have been successful.
Clearly, the collaboration between Honda and Horner’s team has been very successful. The Honda engines helped Red Bull dethrone Mercedes in 2022. Back in 2021, these engines helped Max Verstappen beat the then-reigning champion Lewis Hamilton. Since then, the Milton Keynes did not have to look back. But 2026 might bring a change to the luck of Red Bull’s hegemony in Formula 1. Moreover, starting in 2026, Horner’s team will have a new engine partner. Ford will replace Honda as Red Bull’s engine partner. How successful will the Ford-Red Bull collaboration be? Only time can answer that.
Christian Horner Mentioned Red Bull Is Hitting Every Target For 2026 F1 Engines
Recently, in an interview with Motorsport.com, Christian Horner mentioned that they are on an aggressive curve with the engine. After all, Red Bull is developing their own brand-new power unit manufacturer. Moreover, Horner is happy that his team is rising to that challenge. Adding to that, Horner told Motorsport.com that their facilities are complete not just from a development point of view but also from tests. They have dynos, rig rooms, and so on. Moreover, Horner mentioned their manufacturing capability. However, the Red Bull team principal also knows that just a couple of years in the engine world is not enough.
Horner noted that his team is on a steep learning curve. But the boss is happy because the team is on that curve where they expected and planned to be at this point. On top of that, Horner told Motorsport.com that they are hitting those targets that they are setting themselves. However, the Red Bull boss said it is hard to tell how those targets will work against their competitors. However, Horner noted that the efforts going on behind the scenes have been “Huge.” After all, Horner said, it is a race against time to the beginning of the 2026 season.
How Will The 2026 Power Trains Affect Max Verstappen’s Stay At Horner’s Team?
There have been so many rumors and speculations about Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull before his contract expires. He has a contract till 2028. But will the new power trains of Red Bull have an impact on Verstappen’s decision to stay there? At this point, it is still quite uncertain about how the new engines will pan out for the current reigning champions. Moreover, Max Verstappen said in an interview, that if he has to speculate about everything then he can also worry about if he will stay alive tomorrow.
Hence, he does not want to spend his time worrying about potential engine fears in 2026 at this point in time. Moreover, Max said he is in close contact with Horner and the team working in the factory. Since everybody’s working flat out, Verstappen sees no reason to panic. After all, “It is not 2026 yet.”
Stay tuned to Sports News International for more such updates about your favorite F1 team.
