'World class' Max Verstappen to hand Red Bull F1 power unit 'advantage'

Red Bull Powertrains technical director Ben Hodgkinson believes the "world-class" talent of Max Verstappen will give the Austrian F1 outfit a key advantage.

The Milton Keynes-based team unveiled the livery of the RB22 to the world at a remarkable event in Detroit on Thursday evening, hosted by new technical partner Ford.

It firmly marked the start of a new era for the Austrian organisation, not only because it is moving into the future without Christian Horner and Helmut Marko.

F1’s new power unit regulations represent the beginning of Red Bull producing its own powertrains for both itself and sister team Racing Bulls, which also unveiled its 2026 livery in Detroit.

For Red Bull, it is the biggest challenge it has faced since entering F1, given its lack of experience in engine development compared to main rivals Mercedes, Ferrari and Honda.

An additional challenge is the complexity of the new regulations, which feature a power unit made up of a 50/50 split between electrical power and internal combustion.

This will result in significant in-race management by the drivers — something Hodgkinson believes gives Red Bull an advantage, given what Verstappen is capable of processing at high speed.

Asked by RacingNews365 during a roundtable featuring select media what impact Verstappen has had on the power unit programme, Hodgkinson said: "I think that the real value of Max in this regulation is really going to come in when he gets his hands on it on track. Obviously, he's been on the simulator, so he has given some input already. 

"I think with these regulations, the amount of power that you've got from the ERS – the FIA call it 50%, it's a little less than that, but it's close – it means it's such a large amount of the performance of the power unit and it can be deployed in different strategic ways. 

"And so I think there's actually going to be quite a bit more for the driver to do. There will be a lot of choices to make and strategies that they'll have to devise. 

"And so I think that Max will give us an advantage there, because his ability to be able to process things whilst doing 200 mph is just, I think, absolutely world-class. So, yeah, I'm excited to see what he can do with that."