Ferrari, Mercedes & Audi Gang Up on Red Bull to Take Away a Coveted F1 Privilege

Red Bull won the lot in the 2022 F1 season, however, the Milton Keynes outfit couldn’t win it all. The Red Bull lost a battle against its main rivals Ferrari and Mercedes, among others, in the background. The battle we’re talking about could’ve earned Red Bull precious engine development time. However, Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, and even Audi poured water on Red Bull’s plans to get themselves and Ford a “new” engine manufacturer tag from the FIA.

As of right now, there are four engine suppliers to the entire grid, namely Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, and Honda. However, ever since Honda’s announcement of retraction from F1, Red Bull has been working on manufacturing their own power units. Because of this transition and their new partnership with the American brand starting in 2026, Red Bull wanted Ford to be recognized as a new engine manufacturer. This recognition would’ve given the Milton Keynes team a lot of extra hours in engine development ambitions.

However, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, in stepped the top honchos of Ferrari. Ferrari president John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna led the coup against Red Bull. The top Ferrari men even refused to sign an FIA document until the governing body resolved the Red Bull situation.

The teams made their argument by pointing out various aspects. They argued despite its inception in 2022, Red Bull Powertrains has plenty of expertise. Red Bull even poached the head of mechanical engineering Ben Hodgkinson as well as five other experienced engineers from Mercedes.

The teams also argued that Red Bull’s knowledge of hybrid and electrification in F1 is on par with the competition. Additionally, the team will be working with Honda’s IP till 2025.

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However, Red Bull could’ve earned the tag with a slightly different partnership with Ford.

How Red Bull could have got the new F1 engine manufacturer tag with Ford?

From a works team to powering multiple teams, Ford has been a successful Formula 1 engine supplier for years. The return to the sport with Red Bull, albeit surprising, isn’t a new venture for the American auto manufacturer.

However, the deal they struck with Red Bull limited the Milton Keynes team from unlocking Ford’s full potential. Ford will join Red Bull Powertrains from 2026 onwards as only a commercial partner. Had Ford come on board as an engine manufacturer and developed an engine from scratch, they would’ve been entitled to the benefits.

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However, as of now, only Audi will earn those benefits as they are building the engine from scratch and not Red Bull. Let’s see if the top honchos at Milton Keynes can come up with a different strategy in the future.