Horner reveals Red Bull engine plan after McLaren link rubbished

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has insisted the deal that will see Rob Marshall switch to McLaren carries no obligation to supply engines.

Marshall has left Red Bull in order to begin life at McLaren from January next year as Technical Director for Engineering and Design, with his previous employers underlining his stature as an engineer with a warm departure message.

McLaren is one of only four teams set to take on an engine supply for 2026 along with Red Bull sister team AlphaTauri, Haas and Williams.

Red Bull will supply AlphaTauri with its in-house power unit having partnered with Ford to kickstart its journey as an OEM and with Marshall switching to McLaren, talk had been rife that an engine deal could have been a negotiation sweetener.

“No, Rob is not going with an engine,” Horner told media, including RacingNews365.com.

Outlining the championship-leading outfit's plans, Horner added: “Of course, a couple of teams have approached us about the power unit.

“Our plan at the moment is to supply two teams because we don’t want to overstretch ourselves in the first year. And of course, those teams are likely to be the two Red Bull-owned teams.”

McLaren talks continue with Mercedes

McLaren had already quashed suggestions it could take on Red Bull-Ford supply, with Team Principal Andrea Stella explaining: "We had conversations with Red Bull a few months ago as part of the due diligence in exploring what's available in the market in terms of power unit for 2026.

"But at the moment, we are quite advanced in our negotiations with HPP [Mercedes High Performance Powertrains], so there's no conversation ongoing with Red Bull."