Waché rates Red Bull’s power-unit project four or five out of 10

Pierre Waché rates Red Bull’s first in-house power-unit project at four or five out of 10, while saying its potential for improved performance is massive. The team’s technical director gave that score when asked where the engine project currently stands.

The 2026 campaign is Red Bull’s first season developing its own power unit in-house, in partnership with Ford. From 2005 through 2025, the team relied on outside suppliers including Cosworth, Ferrari, Renault and Honda. The opening half of 2026 did not go entirely to plan.

FIA testing offered a counterpoint: Red Bull’s internal-combustion engine proved to be the most powerful on the grid. That strength also means Red Bull does not receive the development allowances that give Mercedes, Audi, Honda and Ferrari extra scope to improve their power units.

Waché said integrating the engine and chassis operations is taking time because the two sides work differently. Engine development also has a much longer lead time than chassis work, he said. Red Bull has more capacity and possibilities than it has yet explored, he added.

Even so, the chassis-and-engine combination has powered Max Verstappen to back-to-back victories at the last two Grands Prix, in Malaysia and Singapore, as Red Bull builds towards 2027.