Coming on the back of 4 consecutive titles, Red Bull would not have expected to drop the ball so badly in 2014. It was a huge knockout blow by Mercedes which did not see the Milton Keynes outfit rise for some years. Although in this dry spell, Christian Horner and Co. learned a lot. These were some critical lessons that helped them revive glory and return the favor to the Silver Arrows about 8 years later.

After their back-to-back championship wins in 2022, Christian Horner recalled their barren run in F1 during the Mercedes era of dominance. Along with him was the Aero Maestro of Red Bull – Adrian Newey. The duo addressed the eureka moment when they recalibrated their expectations in the Turbo-Hybrid era.

On the recent Red Bull podcast, Newey cited how their former engine partner Renault got the 2014 regulations wrong. He said, “And in the first year, you accept that. We all make mistakes. Chassis, Engine, New regulations – You can get it right, you can get it wrong. They [Renault] got it wrong.”

Although then Newey pointed out how there was no reassurance from Renault that improvements will be made in the future. So it was the moment when Red Bull realized that they needed a good power unit. It was clear that without a decent engine, they cannot win the championship with just great aerodynamics.

He said, “In your foreseeable future if you do a spectacular job, you might snatch the odd win here or there. But you are never going to win the championship. So that was kind of a reset.”

Honda Refuses to Cut Off Red Bull Completely as Championship Winning Manufacturer Continues to Leave a Mark

Eventually, the Milton Keynes outfit onboarded Honda to get a beast-like engine in 2019. While their 2021 and 2022 success has been great with Honda’s latest power unit, Red Bull’s focus is also on the upcoming 2026 engine regulations.

The future of Red Bull and its F1 Engine Partner

Right now, RBR uses the Honda engines with all its IP under the Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) name. But, for the 2023 season, they have entered their engine supplier name as Honda RBPT. There are speculations that Honda is looking to come back to the sport. Although there is no confirmation on the same besides the name change as per the official FIA entry list.

So, what is going on with Red Bull’s own 2026 engine program? As things stand, the team is looking to develop the engine on its own at Milton Keynes under the RBPT name. There are possibilities that Honda or some other manufacturer may want to pitch in with some help.

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Out of all manufacturer candidates, Honda looks the most likely to be that consultant. Since it is their engine that RBR has been most successful with in recent years and they are a familiar entity for Red Bull. Besides them, Ford is another name linked to getting into F1.

There are reports that the American manufacturer might want to partner with Red Bull for the 2026 engine. Again, while there is no official word on the same, it will possibly be related to engine development and marketing purposes for the Ford brand.

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No matter if someone partners with them or not, Red Bull’s dominant car looks set to conquer F1 again as it did from 2010 to 2013. They just need to sustain it going into the 2026 regulation change. Do you think the engine in the back of Red Bull’s car will be as quick post-2026?