Red Bull 2026 power unit under the scanner as F1 pundit claims things not going smoothly

Former F1 driver and pundit Ralf Schumacher claimed that the Red Bull F1 team's power unit project wasn't going smoothly. The Austrian team will develop their in-house power unit and will be racing with them in the new engine regulations starting from the 2026 season.

The Milton Keynes outfit decided to introduce their powertrains after their engine supplier, Honda, initially left the sport after the 2021 season but they continued to help the world champions until Red Bull set up their power trains. However, the Japanese manufacturer will be returning to the sport as an engine supplier for the Aston Martin F1 team in 2026.

Speaking with Formel1.de, Ralf Schumacher believes that Red Bull's powertrains might be a bit behind in terms of development despite team principal Christian Horner insisting that they were on the right track. He said (via RacingNews):

"It's about the in-house development of the drive, especially on the electric side. There still seems to be a catch if you listen to the team. But Christian Horner told me personally that that is nonsense, that it is not like that.

'We are on the right track,' he said. "But he was also of the opinion that they can do without Adrian. So maybe you have to be a little bit careful with that analysis."

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Red Bull team advisor chimes in on the decision to build their own engines

Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko said that introducing new powertrains was the new 'benchmark' for them as it had been a big investment from the management and financial side.

While appearing on the Inside Line podcast, the Austrian reflected on the team's new project and said (via Motorsportweek):

“I think the next benchmark is we will have our own engine, which is an enormous, enormous project from the financial side, as also from the management side. So we will be, yeah, we will be now a real manufacturer.

"So that will start in 2026 and in the future, our focus will be on winning races. Yes, winning races with our own engine and make always a benchmark. You know, as in the beginning, we do it differently, and that should be also the aim for the future,” he said.

Marko even revealed that the Austrian team were close to signing with Mercedes as their engine supplier at the beginning of the Turbo Hybrid era, as they had a handshake agreement with the late Mercedes advisor and three-time world champion Nikki Lauda but the deal was blocked by team principal Toto Wolff.

Red Bull powertrains would be one of five engine manufacturers in 2026 alongside Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, and Audi, with Renault reportedly to close their engine department before the new engine regulations.