Max Verstappen: ‘Time will tell’ over Red Bull-Ford PU power

Max Verstappen said “time will tell” about Red Bull-Ford’s competitiveness in its power unit this season, with teams yet to assess each other’s pace.

Red Bull, via its Powertrains division, has made its first-ever in-house power unit for the huge regulation changes in the 2026 season, having also established a partnership with Ford in its quest to challenge.

Max Verstappen: ‘Time will tell’ over Red Bull-Ford power unit competitiveness

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Red Bull-Ford and Audi both become new power unit manufacturers in the 2026 campaign, as Audi’s factory team joins the grid after its takeover of Sauber, and Red Bull becomes a factory team for the first time as previous engine supplier, Honda, establishes a new partnership with Aston Martin.

Red Bull, along with sister team Racing Bulls, became the first teams to unveil their 2026 liveries at Ford’s Detroit base on Thursday night, with Red Bull returning to the glossy blue colour scheme that characterised its early years in Formula 1.

Heading into an all-new regulatory set and taking the plunge into creating its own power unit, however, brings about uncertainty for how the team will stack up in 2026.

“Time will tell, right?” Verstappen told Sky Sports News when asked about the potential competitiveness of the team’s first power unit.

“I mean, we don’t know. The only thing that I do know is that everyone is giving it everything that they have.

“We are trying to push ahead. We’re really trying to maximise everything, but it’s not going to be easy. We know that.”

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Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies acknowledged the team is “not naive” about the challenge it faces, especially heading into the new season against established figures in power unit manufacturing.

As a result, he hinted at potential early teething issues as the team establishes itself as a power unit manufacturer, but maintains the ultimate goal of being title winners remains the same.

“It’s a crazy challenge,” Mekies said at the team’s launch.

“Perhaps it’s a challenge that only a company like Red Bull and Ford can decide to do, but that’s what we are here for.

“In describing the size of the challenge and starting from scratch and building everything up, I think going into the first year and going to the first race soon and thinking [we will] be straight away at the level of the competitors who have been doing it for perhaps 90 years would be naive.

“We are not naive.

“I think it’s going to be coming with a fair amount of struggle, a fair amount of headaches and sleepless nights, but that is exactly what we are here for.

“Yes, it comes with a few headaches, it comes with a few sleepless nights, but fundamentally that’s what fuels us. We will go through the struggle and eventually come out on top.

“Bear with us in the first few months, and I think these initial difficulties will be good reminders of how much we went through to eventually get on top.”

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