Christian Horner: “We Are 70 Years Behind Ferrari”

Max Verstappen won every single race that he’s finished this season and Christian Horner is extremely happy. As we head towards the Miami Grand Prix, Red Bull looks towards the distant future. The 2026 regulation changes are looming on the sport and with the team performing so well this year, it’s only obvious that they look towards the future. Unlike Ferrari, which has a 150-year run in Formula 1, Red Bull is quite new, and this should practically mean a disadvantage, but the results say otherwise.

Christian Horner has it easy for him this season, with Verstappen already doing this: dominating races with ridiculous margins and scoring ‘Max’imum points in each race. But things might change after the new engines come in, as Red Bull still outsources their power units. Currently, they have an upcoming deal with Ford as the American company makes a return to Formula 1. However, the experience that Ferrari has with building power units outweighs Ford’s. And Horner has come forth to address that.

The Red Bull engine crisis

Right now, Red Bull is stuck with relying on other companies to get their car running. Besides the power unit, everything else is made by the team and that’s how Christian Horner likes it. Yet again, it’s always best to have everything in-house. While they have everything figured out with the RB20, the new hybrid engines will be a different story. This time, Red Bull wants to present their own power unit, which will be made with the help of Ford.

Formulapassion reported that following the Chinese Grand Prix, the Red Bull team principal spoke about where they stand with their engine for 2026. Horner stated, “We are trying to face the natural growth curve, on engines, we are 70 years behind Ferrari.” The Milton Keynes Boss then explained, “We have a very competent group of people at work and we are trying to apply the same philosophy to the engine that we apply to the chassis.”

As we mentioned before, the chassis and the rest of the car are one thing, but the engine is another. This was touched upon by Horner as he said, “The engine, however, is a different challenge. Where are we compared to others? No one has any guarantees of where it is compared to the competition, we are talking about a blank sheet of paper.” 

Now that Red Bull wants to have complete control over their car, they will have to start somewhere, but there is more to it than just building an engine. Other teams already have a head start and Ferrari and Mercedes have decades of experience building engines.

Christian Horner breaks down the new-gen engine progress

The upcoming engine is being called the ‘Red Bull Powertrains’, and while constructing the heart of the car, the team has come across new challenges and benefits. Explaining this, Horner stated, “The fact of not having an engine of this generation has both advantages and disadvantages because, obviously, we do not have a starting point or reliability parameters to ‘translate’. Only in 2026 will we actually see if we have achieved our objectives, but if I look at the two years that have passed so far, taking into account a practically standing start, we have already achieved notable results.”

With the new engines, there are chances that other teams might get it right the first time around and the new team takes a bit to adjust. There is always a threat of losing everything you have in F1, especially for teams. While a driver can shuffle around the grid, the team championship standings remain forever.

Red Bull wants to build an engine of their own and it is great for the team, but that should not come at the cost of losing their position in the pecking order. Ultimately, only the future knows what’s in store, and all we can do is wait and watch how things in Formula 1 transpire. Do you think the new regulations will put the dominant Red Bull at a disadvantage? Let us know below.