Red Bull Powertrains will work in conjunction with Ford to help deliver the engine that will power the current world champion team for the new era of F1 rules.
Its test benches are already working hard to assess the performance of its new turbo-hybrid design and although there have been various rumors about the level of progress Red Bull is making with its project, Horner insists everything is on track. the right path.
Speaking to Autosport about the current situation, Horner said: “With the engine we are on an aggressive curve as a brand new powertrain manufacturer, but the team is really up to that challenge.
“Our facilities are complete, both from a testing and development perspective, with test benches and installation rooms, etc., and manufacturing capacity.
“But two years in the engine business is a very short time. We’re on a steep learning curve, but we’re on that curve and where we expect to be at this point.
Although Red Bull is unaware of the progress made by other manufacturers, Horner says it has set out certain performance levels it believes it needs to achieve in its roadmap to 2026 – and which are being achieved so far.
“We are achieving the goals we set for ourselves,” he said. “It’s always difficult to know how these goals compare to those of our competitors. But the efforts behind the scenes are enormous, as it is literally a race against time until early 2026.”
Uncertainty over Red Bull’s powertrain performance for 2026 sparked speculation earlier this year that it could be a factor prompting Max Verstappen to question his long-term future with the team.
However, the three-time world champion insisted it was far too early to worry about how things would develop so far away from the engine running on track for the first time.
“I mean, if I have to speculate about everything… I might worry if I’m still alive tomorrow, right?” the Dutchman said of possible engine-related fears. “So I don’t really worry about it too much.
“Of course, I am in close contact with Christian about this and with the people who work there. Everyone is working hard, so there is no need to panic about this. We are still not not in 2026.
“We know it’s a very important task, we don’t take it lightly. And of course, with so many established engine manufacturers, we don’t think it will be easy to beat them either.”
“But we have a lot of good people working on the project and we’re very excited about it. So time will tell, of course, where it takes us.”
