Red Bull is expressing optimism about the progress of their engine project. The Austrian team will start producing their engines from 2026, ending their partnership with Honda. According to Red Bull engineer Paul Monaghan, the collaboration between the various Red Bull departments in the run-up to the 2026 change is going well so far.
Red Bull has been working with Honda since 2019. The collaboration between the two companies has partly helped Max Verstappen win his world titles. From 2026, Red Bull will be making the engines themselves, with assistance from American company Ford, thus ending the partnership with Honda. Despite the resounding success with Honda, Red Bull engineer Paul Monaghan is confident that the team can reach greater heights with complete independence.
Red Bull’s Transition from Honda to Self-Produced Engines
“We are very grateful to Honda for everything they have done for us, but now we are all under one overarching company,” explains Monaghan. “If we want to be as strong as possible in 2026, we need to make this project work. So the challenges are there, but we also have the opportunity to deliver work that is at least as good, if not better, than what we did with Honda.”
2026 Regulations
Not only will Red Bull, under the name Red Bull Powertrains, be producing the engines entirely themselves from 2026, but these engines will also have to comply with a whole new set of rules. In 2026, a new regulation will come into force. “If you look at it as a team plus engine supplier, then the fact that you’re throwing a different set of rules at it only makes it more complicated,” Monaghan admits.
However, the Brit does have confidence that it will work out. “The work I’ve seen between the Red Bull chassis side and the Red Bull Powertrain side is just as good, if not stronger, than what I’ve seen with any of our engine suppliers. I think we will all tackle it with both hands. The project will have its difficult days, and it will have its good days,” says the engineer.
