Mekis: The decision to build the engines ourselves was insane!

      In the 2026 season both Red Bull teams will use their own power units, which are now being prepared in Milton Keynes with technical support from Ford. Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies considers the decision taken several years ago insane, but is watching the outcome with interest.

      Laurent Mekies: “The decision to develop our own power unit, in our case with the support of Ford, is the craziest decision one could make. Probably only Red Bull would be crazy enough to do it!

      We are newcomers to this field, but we now have workshops, equipment, dynamometer test benches, 600 people on the payroll — and we will try to compete with those who have been building engines for 90 years. We like this challenge, we like the idea. It’s very much in the spirit of Red Bull, and we’re very proud to be doing this together with Ford.

      It would be naive to think we’ll be at the front straight away. We know we face several very, very tough months, many sleepless nights and the task of solving serious problems, but that’s part of the challenge we are ready to take on.”