Horner confident 'ballsy' Red Bull engine project will work

Christian Horner believes Red Bull's 'ballsy' decision to undertake its own engine project must work, when they switch to their own power units in 2026.

The project has been in progress for the last two years, with Red Bull electing to make its own internal combustion engines alongside Ford who will produce the electric MGU element of their power units.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has already stated that there is no 'Plan B' if their RBPT engines are not as competitive as expected, something that could impact Max Verstappen's decision to stay at the team.

Horner is confident that they will get the job done, given the high standards the Dutchman often holds at times.

“I don’t think it’s just about Max. We’re all very impatient in Formula 1,” Horner told PlanetF1.

“Everybody wants to be competitive. It’s a massive undertaking. It’s a ballsy undertaking that we’ve taken on but we believe that it’s the right route for the company, for the future."

Horner says the team is now full steam ahead on meeting their deadline before the engine has to be added to their 2026 challenger.

“It’s busy, there’s 24 months before that engine will be being bolted into the back of the RB22,” he said.

“It’s not that long in the engine world so there’s still an awful lot more to do in a very short period of time.

“But I’m confident that we’ve got the right people, and we can get there.”

Ferrari is rumoured to have already got their first version of their 2026 engine created and fired up. Horner was tight-lipped on their current progress, but was quick to praise the work done so far.

“We’re not going to go into detail yet of where we’re at, but we’re on a trajectory,” he said.

“But we’ve got a lot of ground to cover and a lot of ground to make up – we’re competing against manufacturers that have decades of experience.

“Red Bull, 30 months ago, this project was still embryonic. So what’s been achieved in 13 months has been outstanding.”