Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has warned that the team’s incoming Red Bull Powertrains engine for the 2026 Formula 1 season simply “has to work.”
Red Bull is currently the dominant force in F1, having wrapped up the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles with races to spare in 2023 and 2022.
A dominant aerodynamic package has been complimented by the Honda power unit Red Bull shall continue to employ until the end of the 2025 season as a result of an engine development freeze in F1, which was put in place after the Japanese marque officially withdrew from the sport at the end of the 2021 season.
That decision by Honda means that Red Bull has had to set up its own engine development program for 2026, which will see revised engine regulations come into play.
“Even though we are still a long way from competitive use, everything is going according to plan and the performance curve is right,” Marko told Austrian media outlet OE24.
Red Bull Powertrains has formed a strategic partnership with Ford on its 2026 F1 engine project and Marko is adamant that the project must be a success.
Despite Honda’s exit from F1 at the end of 2021, it has elected to return to the sport in an official capacity in 2026, forming a works engine deal with Aston Martin.
This prompted OE24 to ask whether the new 2026 Honda engine could provide a ‘Plan B’ should Red Bull’s engine fail to meet the required standard.
“No, it has to work,” Marko answered. “From 2026, we will be racing with our own engine.
“Until then, we want the best possible performance potential from Honda, which has worked well so far.
“Honda was my deal, so I will continue to look after it.”
The 2026 engine regulations will see an increased reliance on the electrical components of the hybrid F1 power units, along with the removal of the MGU-H system.
With Red Bull likely to continue its winning ways until the end of the current rule cycle in 2025, the 2026 engine regulations could pave the way for the current pacesetters to end up on the back foot, should its engine wind up being uncompetitive.
This could be cause for concern for one Max Verstappen, as the three-time F1 World Champion is under contract with Red Bull through 2028.
But what does Verstappen think of the new engine’s potential to derail Red Bull’s reign at the top of F1?
“A difficult question,” Verstappen told Swiss publication Blick.
“But hundreds of people are working on this Red Bull Powertrains project in Milton Keynes.
“We don’t want to be caught on the wrong foot in 2026. We all hope it will be a rocket. We will see.”
Red Bull Powertrains join Honda, Audi, Mercedes, Ferrari and Alpine as a 2026 F1 power unit manufacturer.
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