Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has conveyed a relaxed approach to the possibility of Formula 1 returning to V8 engines in the future, amid its burgeoning partnership with Ford.
The Milton Keynes-based squad has not shown a great deal of competitiveness so far this year, but has exceeded expectations in terms of the performance of its first in-house power unit, build in collaboration with the American giants.
Hard work and preparation by the alliance has been fraught in the build-up to the 2026 season, as the whole grid has been forced to get to grips with the sport’s new radical and controversial technical regulations cycle.
But a number of the drivers, and no doubt many of the fans, have been buoyed by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s announcement that V8s will be returning in the future.
Whilst this may misalign with some power unit manufacturers, Mekies was apparently unperturbed by the possibility.
“As Red Bull Powertrains, we are pretty cool with it,” he told media, including Motorsport Week, in Miami.
“We feel we had to start from zero to go and try to deal with this power unit. And I think the starting point is decent.
“We are still lacking some PU performance compared to Mercedes, but we feel that the guys did a phenomenal job to put us in a fight.
“So we are quite excited to have another challenge.
“We are probably a bit more flexible and independent. We don’t have some background history, but we are quite excited about going about a new challenge.”
Mekies added: “Indeed, there is a V8 in the Ford Mustang that I’m lucky to drive every day in Milton Keynes.
“So, we may have an early start.”
The prospect of V8s may not go down as well with a number of the organisations that have entered F1 amid its most electrified era yet, namely Audi, which has a rich heritage of electric-based motorsport success.
But Red Bull appear to be raring to go if Ben Sulayem’s prophecy comes to fruition.
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