Red Bull make important change following Christian Horner’s departure

Red Bull is set to make a major change to the structure of its new Powertrains division following the axing of Christian Horner. 

Formed in 2021, Red Bull Powertrains is developing the first in-house Red Bull F1 engine for the '26 season. Horner is still listed as a director on Companies House following his removal from operational duties and dismissal as team principal and CEO on July 9th. 

It is expected that Horner's direct replacement at Red Bull Racing, Laurent Mekies, is to assume the CEO duties of Red Bull Powertrains. One senior figure, however, is to receive a greater say in operations at RBPT. 

Formula.Hu has reported that Ben Hodgkinson will take on a greater role in the engine department from his current position of technical director which he assumed in May 2022. 

Hodgkinson was poached from Mercedes High Performance Powertrains (HPP), where he served as head of mechanical engineering between 2017 and 2022, having first joined HPP in 2001.

He held various roles with the company. At the time of the turbo hybrids being adopted in 2014, Hodgkinson was mecatronics team leader. He also served as top-end team leader and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) leader before his final promotion in September 2017, according to his LinkedIn page.

It is understood that Red Bull GmbH management has been impressed with Hodgkinson, reflecting this by giving him more operational responsibilities for the engine project.

Red Bull will also power sister team Racing Bulls in 2026, receiving technical assistance from Ford, which joined as a partner in March 2023.