Red Bull driver provides update on new F1 power unit

As a new F1 era looms, with a comprehensive rewrite of the technical regulations, there is considerable intrigue over which power unit will be the strongest when the 2026 season gets underway.

The championship's engine rules have been overhauled for the first time since 2014, meaning a shake-up of F1's competitive landscape could be in short order.

Mercedes aced the previous change, coming out of the blocks in dominant fashion. Whether that happens again remains to be seen, but there will also be two new power unit providers gracing the grid for the first time in the campaign ahead.

Audi, in its maiden season in F1, has taken over the Sauber team and will be a works operation for the first time. So too will Red Bull.

Two decades into its tenure in F1, the six-time constructors' champion has taken the leap to manufacturing its own power units for the first time — through Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) — in conjunction with Ford, which has come on board as a technical partner following Honda's switch to Aston Martin.

The transition from a customer operation to a full works-style outfit has been described throughout the paddock as tantamount to scaling Mount Everest — particularly given new chassis rules are also being adopted for 2026 — but Sebastien Buemi, who also performs simulator duties for Red Bull, believes the Milton Keynes-based squad's ambitious project is progressing in the right direction.

However, the Envision Racing Formula E driver stresses that its true competitiveness will only become clear once it goes head-to-head with rivals on track.

Speaking exclusively to RacingNews365, Buemi offered an honest assessment of where the project currently stands, whilst acknowledging both the scale of the challenge and the uncertainty that still surrounds it.

"I think it’s going quite well," Buemi said when asked about the progress of Red Bull’s 2026 car.

"Keeping in mind that it’s a massive, massive challenge for Red Bull to make its own engine, you can’t really tell until you put the car on the track and compare yourself with the others.

"Yes, you know if you’re reliable or if you have big issues, but in terms of competitiveness, you need to be racing the other guys."

Buemi, who has long-standing ties with the Red Bull family and vast experience across F1, Formula E and endurance racing, underlined just how misleading internal benchmarks can be in isolation.

"You may think that what you’ve done is amazing, but if some people have done way better, then it’s going to be shit," he said candidly.

"So I feel like they’ve been working — and we’ve been working — very hard for many, many months now. At some point, we need to see whether what we’ve done is good enough."

Starting from scratch

The 2026 regulations will introduce a greater emphasis on electrical power and sustainable fuels, while removing the MGU-H, something that makes Buemi's experience in the all-electric series all the more valuable.

For Red Bull, the challenge is compounded by the fact that it is building its own engine operation from the ground up.

Buemi explained that while there is confidence inside the organisation, it is tempered by realism about the unknowns that lie ahead.

"I mean, yes, they obviously have targets, and the idea is to reach them," the 2015-16 Formula E drivers' champion said when asked whether Red Bull is confident in its engine.

"But as you can imagine, they started from scratch; nothing: no factory, no employees, nothing at all."

The rapid growth of RBPT has been striking, and the operation has expanded at pace as Red Bull raced to be ready for 2026.

"I don’t know how many they have now in the powertrain department — around 500 or something like that, which is huge," Buemi added.

Beyond sheer numbers, the four-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner highlighted how Red Bull’s long-term vision mirrors that of the sport’s traditional giants.

"What they have now with the engine, the wind tunnel — although the wind tunnel isn’t ready yet — the chassis, the workbench, marketing, everything in the same place… I think only Ferrari has that."

Despite this impressive infrastructure, Buemi was clear that perfection remains a moving target in F1, particularly with such complex hybrid systems.

"So it’s very difficult to know. We always want better; we always want more — more drivability, more reliability, more power," he said. "I think so far it’s going okay, but as we said, until we actually go and drive, you can’t be sure."

Simulation tools and dyno testing play a vital role in modern F1 development, but the 37-year-old warned they can only go so far.

"The engine simulation, or even running it on the workbench, can look good, but then, when you put it in the car, will there be vibration that damages it?" he explained. "It’s very difficult. We need to drive at some point."