In 2021, the ground where the Red Bull Powertrains factory now stands was empty.
Today, the vision of Dietrich Mateschitz, the team’s owner who died in 2022, has been realized. For the first time in its 21-year history, it is competing as a manufacturer in its own right.
“We have to say a huge well done to everybody at Milton Keynes,” Laurent Mekies, the team principal, said, referring to the team’s factory in England. “On the power unit side, we can’t forget that a few years ago, it was a field where we now have our P.U. factory.
“From the guys who were there from Day 1, to the ones who came after, they’ve done an amazing job to just get the car out of the garage in Barcelona, to do that magic 100 laps on the first day. It was historical. They should be proud, and we are very proud of them.”
That “100 laps” was 107 from Isack Hadjar, on his first day as a Red Bull driver in testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain, in January. Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, the other team using Red Bull engines this season, completed 88 on the first day.
The reliability of the Red Bull power unit during testing in Spain and Bahrain surprised many. This year, the system is powered by an even split between the internal combustion engine and electric energy and runs on 100 percent sustainable fuel.
On its Grand Prix debut last weekend in Australia, it powered Max Verstappen, a four-time Formula 1 champion, to sixth from 20th on the grid after he crashed in qualifying. Hadjar retired after 10 laps with an engine issue, but Arvid Lindblad, a rookie driver with Racing Bulls, was eighth.
But the team’s achievement in even making it to testing drew plaudits.
“Red Bull has done an amazing job,” Steve Nielsen, managing director at Alpine, said. “Honestly, four years ago, that P.U. manufacturer was a hole in the ground, and here they are today. They have done very well, and it’s a credit to everybody involved.”
When Honda, Red Bull’s previous engine supplier, announced in 2020 it would leave Formula 1 at the end of 2021, it forced the team “to take control of our destiny,” Christian Horner, the team principal at the time, said.
“It shows a commitment from Red Bull and that Dietrich Mateschitz is not afraid of risk,” he said.
In 2023, Red Bull entered into a partnership with Ford to help develop its power unit. The automaker is providing technical expertise in areas like combustion engine development, battery cell and electric motor technology, power unit control software and analytics.
“We have to recognize the fantastic job that the engine people have done,” Pierre Waché, the Red Bull technical director, said. “To be able, as a start-up, to make an engine and to avoid looking stupid on the track is a massive achievement.”
These are very early days for Red Bull as a manufacturer in competing with two giants, Ferrari and Mercedes. Mekies said his team could not be satisfied with its achievement in simply making the grid.
“We know very well the size of the competition,” he said. “We know very well the size of the mountain that is still in front of us. We’ve just had a very good start on it.
“But we know we are going to run into a number of uncomfortable moments, where the gap to the competition will be too big, where the car will stop on track. It’s part of the game, but we are happy to be in the game. It’s going to be a huge development race on the chassis side, P.U. side, but it’s what we all love.”
Red Bull is renowned for its chassis development. Since 2010, it has won eight drivers’ titles, four each for Sebastian Vettel and for Verstappen, and six constructors’ championships.
Alongside the changes to the power unit, the aerodynamics regulations have also undergone modifications. The cars are smaller and lighter and use active aero, which includes adjustable front and rear wings to provide higher top speeds on the straights, and when they are open to improve the racing and aid overtaking.
It is an area where major gains will be made this season. “When you are dealing with new regulations, you are competing with yourself more or less,” Waché said. “Every day you are finding development.
“Given the starting point and the development path with these regulations, you will see a development race. Everybody will bring a lot of updates at the beginning of the season, developing that information.”
An area of concern for Red Bull is its wind tunnel, which Horner said was “a Cold War relic,” leading to a lack of correlation between the results from the tunnel and the car on track. With teams racing to develop their cars, Red Bull cannot afford to be behind its rivals.
“The team struggled a lot with correlation at the end of the last regulations, mainly for two reasons,” Waché said. “The first is because the wind tunnel we have is quite old. It’s the oldest in Formula 1.
“The second is when the regulations reach a plateau, what you are trying to find is minimal. The accuracy requirement is very high, and you can go down the wrong path. This year, the regulations are new, and the data you can find is bigger and less risky. That doesn’t mean there is no risk; there’s less risk.”
To reduce the correlation issue, a new wind tunnel is being built. Waché said the team had invested about $65 million in its construction, “to have the best in the entire field,” but it would not be ready for at least eight months.
One asset Red Bull can rely on is its star driver, Verstappen. During testing, he criticized the new regulations, which he said had delivered cars akin to “Formula E on steroids,” referring to the all-electric series, and would make the racing feel artificial.
It led to questions about Verstappen’s long-term future in the sport, which he did not dismiss. “When you’ve already won and achieved everything, then driving in F1 doesn’t really have to happen anymore,” he said.
“There are lots of other fun things you can do, and that’s what I’m definitely going to do. Maybe already this year and in the years to come.” He said the new regulations won’t help him stay in the sport “for a very long time.”
Mekies said he had “zero concerns” over Verstappen’s commitment to Red Bull. He has another three years remaining on his contract with the team.
Verstappen said that working with the team’s own car, and everyone involved with it, was “super fun.” But he wishes the series had not taken the path of greater electrification.
“As a purist, as a motorsport enthusiast, I would have preferred it to be different,” he said. “I also know I have to make do with this. I can’t adjust it now. I will always try to get the most out of it.”
Mekies said that Verstappen could be the difference for the team as it navigated a way with its own power unit and finds the best aerodynamics as it awaits its new wind tunnel.
“The reality is that the challenge of these regulations is massive, for the teams, the power unit manufacturers, and the drivers as well,” Mekies said. “It is different for all of us, but that’s also what we love, to try to break through these challenges, to try to find solutions that we felt were not on the table, and that’s what we will do with Max’s help.
“I’m quite confident that, as it will turn out, he will most likely become the best at mastering these regulations, technicalities and tricks, as much as he did in the previous set of regulations.”
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