Baku, April 8, AZERTAC
Red Bull’s first Formula 1 engine project is “on plan” and a single-cylinder engine will run “imminently”, even though the 2026 rules have not been finalized, according to the Race.
Red Bull Powertrains is a new company Red Bull has established to develop, build and maintain engines for F1’s new regulations that are scheduled to be introduced in 2026, a move it committed to in the wake of Honda’s decision to leave F1 officially at the end of 2021.
A brand new facility is being finished at the Red Bull factory in Milton Keynes, where state-of-the-art dynos and machinery has been purchased and installed to set it up to the required standard.
While Red Bull Powertrains is not yet working from its new bespoke campus and no definitive 2026 technical regulations exist, initial work on the 2026 power unit has started.
A small number of key details about the new power unit have been confirmed, with the MGU-H component removed from the hybrid system of a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, and an uprated MGU-K to 350kW (around 469bhp).
Single-cylinder engines are usually early prototypes before the real thing is pursued at full scale.
Horner was not more specific than saying it will run “imminently” but it is understood that dyno running is not meant to take place before July 1, which could be the timeline Red Bull is working towards.
In the absence of finalised technical regs there is a framework in place for the 2026 engines. If that framework is not considered binding, a pre-July dyno run may be possible.
Red Bull is also pressing on with its engine plans without formal confirmation of a much-mooted partnership with Porsche.
The Volkswagen Group is yet to commit to a decision on whether to enter F1 but there are plans for both Porsche and Audi to do so, with Porsche collaborating with Red Bull Powertrains as an engine supplier.