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Horner emotional about Mateschitz F1 engine Red Bull Ford

Horner with emotional story about Mateschitz: 'He's still heard that'

6 August at 17:00
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  • Nicole Mulder

Red Bull Racing are currently working hard to develop their first engine, a collaboration between Red Bull Powertrains and Ford. Christian Horner reveals an emotional detail about the new line of Formula 1 power units being produced in Milton Keynes. It has everything to do with Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who passed away in 2022.

Horner on Mateschitz: 'He still heard our engine'

Red Bull are facing a big change. Honda are leaving as their engine partner and will team up with Aston Martin from 2026 onwards. Red Bull Powertrains will produce their own powerplant for the first time in its 20-year history, joining forces with US manufacturer Ford.

At the Red Bull Campus in Milton Keynes, Horner talks about the first internal combustion engine Red Bull Powertrains ever made. "The fire-up of this V6 was in August 2022. Dietrich Mateschitz was able to hear this first ever Red Bull engine just before he passed away. After his death, we decided to label all our engines as DM, so Dietrich will always be at the heart of Red Bull cars," the 50-year-old Briton told Autosport.com and others.

Horner says that first engine played a role in convincing Ford to get into the project after talks with Porsche broke down. Ford chief Mark Rushbrook adds that he was sent the Red Bull team principal's e-mail address, after which he sent Horner an e-mail asking to enter into talks.

Rushbrook stresses that Ford are not telling Red Bull Powertrains what to do, taking into account the Austrian formation's years of F1 experience. "We mainly ask them what they need from us to be successful together," he makes it clear. In addition, he explained that Ford's involvement is larger than originally intended. Initially, the American manufacturer was mainly going to contribute to the electrical components of the 2026 engine, but now Ford is also contributing to the turbocharger and testing rigs for the internal combustion engine because they already had knowledge and equipment for that.

This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi