Why Red Bull thinks it isn’t “completely mad” to do its own F1 engine

For many teams, the possibilities of tying up with such a major car manufacturer would have been viewed as a critical step towards future results and finances. So losing that opportunity as talks got down to the nitty gritty would have triggered some intense panic and a ripping up of demands to try to get the big bosses back to the negotiating table.

But the stance from Red Bull is one of being quite relaxed about how things have turned out. It has been clear for several weeks that it only ever wanted the tie-up with Porsche to be on its own terms and, with it pushing full on with its own Powertrains project, there was no stress and unnecessary pressure in getting a deal across the line.

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As Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says, some would believe his team “mad” to embark alone on the kind of mammoth investment needed to fund a competitive engine project. But Red Bull is no ordinary team and, with the full backing of the energy drinks company to fund the delivery of what’s best for the racing team, there are no alarm bells ringing from the accountants about how things are playing out.

“I think as soon as we made the decision, there was a full commitment, and it’s no small undertaking,” said Horner. “I mean, some people think we’re completely mad to take on the likes of Ferrari, and Mercedes and Renault and potentially even Honda, starting from scratch. But that is exactly the Red Bull way: to achieve the impossible. They said the same thing about designing and building a chassis.”

He added: “I think it gives us a unique position, other than Ferrari to have everything under one roof. With the synergies that that creates, it allows us to look at other projects, for example, the RB17, and whether we produce our own power unit, for that project. So it strategically is a logical investment after Honda’s announcement to withdraw: to take our future into our own hands rather than being reliant on being a customer.”

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Red Bull’s decision to commit to its own engine for 2026 has been eased by the fact that there will be a cost cap on power unit development as part of the new rules – so there is no risk of it getting involved in a full-on spending war against rival OEMs. And having such a long timeframe before its engine gets unleashed in anger on the race track still gives it plenty of…