Red Bull reveal how much potential lies within its own power unit

Pierre Waché has insisted Red Bull has "massive" untapped potential with its first in-house power unit, despite a difficult opening half to the current campaign.

For two decades, the Milton Keynes-based team relied on outside engine suppliers, from Cosworth through Ferrari, Renault and Honda. From 2005 through 2025, Red Bull never built its own PU.

That changed this year. The 2026 season marked the first time the team has developed its own power unit in-house, working in partnership with Ford.

Performance-wise, the first half of the campaign did not go entirely to plan. There was, however, a notable silver lining: during FIA testing, Red Bull's internal combustion engine proved to be the most powerful on the grid, though that strength also means it falls outside the development allowances given to Mercedes, Audi, Honda and Ferrari.

Building and developing a Formula 1 power unit from scratch is no small task, and Red Bull technical director Waché was clear that the switch has brought extra demands rather than fewer.

"You have to do more, and you also feel more responsible for what we can achieve," Waché told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview.

"Ultimately, we'll have more freedom. As you say, it's a success story. But you know, the journey isn't over yet. We have plenty of stuff to improve together."

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Waché - 'I'd say four or five'

Waché explained that blending the engine and chassis sides of the operation has taken time, pointing to fundamental differences in how the two departments approach their work.

"The collaboration and the integration within the team are taking time because the way we work is a little bit different," said Waché. "Just by nature, the people on the engine and chassis side are quite different.

"Anyway, it's a learning process for the full team because the lead time on a chassis is a lot quicker than an engine, so the way you see stuff is different, and the way we work with them is different compared to what we used to do when we were a customer.

"So, I wouldn't say it's easier, because we have a lot more capacity and a lot more possibilities that we haven't explored and exploited yet.

"But the capacity and the potential to have a better performance are higher, and this is why we are doing this."

Despite this, chassis and engine have powered Max Verstappen to back-to-back victories at the last two grands prix in Malaysia and Singapore, and he appears poised to end the season strongly as the team builds into 2027.

Asked to rate on a scale of one to 10 where Red Bull currently stands with its engine project, Waché replied: "I'd say a four or a five."

Pressed on whether that leaves significant room for improvement, Waché was unequivocal.

"Absolutely, the potential is massive."