Laurent Mekies still feels decision by Red Bull to undertake joint venture with Ford in the Powertrains side for F1 2026 to build new power units.
After Honda initially decided to not partake in the next generation of power units, Red Bull eventually took the step to develop its own Powertrains and partnered with Ford to undertake the new journey. The regulations were pushed to 2026 and interestingly Honda re-committed.
The FIA changed few things around to lure other manufacturers like Audi and General Motors. Red Bull stuck with its own plan alongside Ford, while Honda switched to Aston Martin. For years, Red Bull has been prepping up for a huge change around its Milton Keynes base.
They have built a whole new power unit headquarter and they are now in the final phase of on-track run for the first time in a few weeks time in official capacity. Team boss Mekies still thinks it to be a crazy decision that Red Bull ever took to remain committed to F1.
It is a big step and one in the unknown considering how difficult it was even for a company like Renault to challenge the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and Honda in the last regulation. They have the support of Ford, but it is still a lot of in-house work for an energy drinks company on the face of it.
Considering the big step, Mekies expects pain for some time to get things right, especially on power side. “We said it many times, the decisions to do your own power unit, in that case for us with the support of Ford, is the most crazy decisions one can take,” he said to media. “That’s how we feel. It was a crazy call, probably a call that only Red Bull can make.
“We started on this field, we now have a building, we have the dynos, we have the 600 people. And we will try to fight against people that have been doing it for 90 years. So we love the challenge, we love that idea. It’s very Red Bull, very proud to do it with Ford. It would be naive to think that we are going to land it on the top spot straight away there.
“So we know we are going to have a few very, very tough months, many sleepless nights, a few headaches. But it’s also part of the privilege to be associated with these sort of challenges. It’s a bit similar to 2026. It’s an amazing challenge to be associated with. We know it’s going to come with some pain, but that’s what we are here for,” summed up Mekies.
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