Red Bull Racing and McLaren have been at loggerheads this year, especially with the battle to the top getting more fierce with each passing day. Lando Norris beat Max Verstappen once in Miami and almost got him in Canada. However, tensions escalated in Austria when the duo rammed into each other on a final stint.
After a few laps of intense battle, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen lost their cool and crashed, which resulted in a puncture in both cars. Since then, Red Bull and McLaren haven’t stopped taking vile shots at each other, and Zak Brown has even been questioning RB’s integrity. Amid this, reports of potential collaboration have taken the F1 world by storm.
Zak Brown Seeks Collaboration With ‘Disrespectful’ Red Bull Racing
McLaren CEO Zak Brown accused Red Bull Racing of fostering a ‘toxic’ environment when Adrian Newey’s departure news broke on the internet. Moreover, he claimed the team is hanging by a thread and could collapse due to a mass exodus following Newey’s exit. Additionally, after a recent crash between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, Brown called RB disrespectful and a team with zero integrity. Basically, besides the fierce on-track battle, Brown is also leading a verbal battle with the Bulls on the paddock. However, after calling the drink-based outfit all sorts of names and throwing shades at its integrity, Zak Brown now apparently wants to partner with the same organization.
As per a report from Auto Sports, Zak Brown paid a visit to Red Bull Racing’s factory a few weeks ago and met Ford CEO Jim Farley to discuss the possibility of a potential engine partnership. McLaren has been using the Mercedes engine for a long time. However, with the customer number expected to increase after the addition of Alpine, McLaren fears instability. Moreover, Red Bulls are building their own engine in partnership with Ford for the 2026 season, and Zak Brown went over it to discuss the possibility of a future collaboration. Brown confirmed the speculations by saying that Farley is a good friend of his, and hence, he discussed the proposal with him before McLaren decided to extend their contract with Mercedes. Regardless, McLaren continues to keep a close eye on RB’s growth. If they succeed in cracking the 2026 engine regulations, the McLaren-Red Bull partnership could soon be a reality.
RBR Leaves Honda To Build Own Engine With Ford!
After a highly successful relationship, Red Bull Racing has decided to part ways with Honda and build their own engine at Milton Keynes in partnership with Ford. With the 2026 engine regulations on the horizon, the drink based outfit embraced a new challenge to compete with the suppliers Mercedes and Ferrari.
So far, Red Bull believes their homegrown engine project is on schedule and headed in the right direction. However, the 2026 regulation change is a big gamble. It can reset the pecking order and if RB steps a foot wrong, they can potentially lose its dominance and fall behind on the grid with an imminent recovery being next to impossible.
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