Red Bull challenges Mercedes 2026 F1 engine advantage claim

Red Bull Powertrains chief Ben Hodgkinson believes the rumours of Mercedes’ supposed engine superiority may have been started by themselves.

As the new-generation F1 engines prepare to hit the track for the first time in 2026, paddock chatter has suggested it’s Mercedes that has the power unit to beat to start the new regulation cycle.

Ben Hodgkinson: An empty can rattles the loudest

F1 moves to a new engine formula this year, with the 1.6-litre V6 architecture remaining in place, but with a vastly more powerful battery and energy recovery systems that boost the electrification ratio to a near equal 50/50 split with the internal combustion engine.

At the start of the last engine formula cycle in 2014, it was Mercedes High-Performance Powertrains that proved the standard-setter. Coupled to the Mercedes chassis out of Brackley, the combination dominated F1 for the first few years of that ruleset.

With the new engines yet to compete, the major question for 2026 is which of the five PU manufacturers will have the engine to beat in 2026.

Paddock speculation has suggested it could well be Mercedes once again.

Red Bull Powertrains’ technical director Ben Hodgkinson has first-hand insight into how Mercedes HPP operated in the past, having worked for the company since its days as Ilmor. He left HPP to join RBPT in 2022, and Hodgkinson explained to the media why he believes some of the positive rumours about Mercedes may be coming from inside the house.

“I think a lot of that talk originated from Mercedes themselves. My gran used to say, ‘An empty can rattles the loudest’,” he said in a media round-table ahead of the Red Bull launch in Detroit earlier this week, as quoted by the Express.

“I think my real opinion, I probably can’t say. There’s quite a lot of noise in the press about the fact that it’s believed that Mercedes is going to be the benchmark – a lot of them started by themselves, probably because the driver market is really tough, and they wanted to try to attract people in a car that was currently not performing.

“So, you have to sort of layer it on the political positioning that everyone has to make. And then, of course, if you say the rumour enough, it starts being believed as a fact and then people start looking for reasons for it. That’s a bit of a theory as to how it all happened.”

With the 2026 RBPT engine being the first Hodgkinson will have had a contribution to in half a decade, he’s excited to see how Red Bull’s first attempt as a fully autonomous manufacturer plays out.

“I just want to get my head down and get on with it, and we’ll let the results do the talking, I think,” he said, offering some insight into how RBPT’s facility and organisation compares to HPP.

“Mercedes is a very competent power unit manufacturer. I spent 20 years there, so I know it very, very well.

“I was able to make sure that everything that we did here was better than what was done previously.

“I can benchmark myself to history quite well, so I know where that is. I’m just looking forward to getting started. I feel like I’ve not been racing for four years. I just want to get racing again, and we’ll see.”

More on F1 2026’s power units

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What has Mercedes said about its F1 2026 power unit?

Mercedes HPP, alongside supplying the factory team, will also supply reigning Constructors’ Champions McLaren, as well as Williams and new signing Alpine, in 2026.

Appearing on the Beyond the Grid podcast at the end of 2025, Mercedes’ CEO and team principal, Toto Wolff, was asked about his level of confidence going into the new year, given the favourites tag that has been thrust onto the power unit side of the business.

“Never confident. We are glass-half-empty people, never half-full,” he said.

“It starts with the enemy in the house. McLaren has been the better team this year with a Mercedes power unit.

“So, if the power unit were to be superior, which we never say and we never feel entitled to say so, then you’ve got to beat Williams, you’ve got to beat McLaren, and you’ve got to beat Alpine.”

The rumours, Wolff insisted, are a distraction to be ignored.

“On top of that, these rumour mills are always dangerous, because someone, somewhere in another team or another power unit manufacturer or fuel supplier will think, ‘Well, we like to position you guys in the favourite role, but we are coming’, and that’s why we are not being carried away by any gossip that’s been discussed at the hairdresser.”

Mercedes HPP managing director, Hywel Thomas, has also spoken about the rumours his organisation holds the favourites tag, and revealed he is mystified by how such speculation seems to know about the level of power Brixworth has unlocked.

“The pecking order, we never think we’ve got enough power, we never think we’ve got reliability, and we never think we’re the best at putting that down on the track,” he said.

“If you always think you’re a bit behind and you’re always pushing to get that extra bit, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

Addressing the rumours of Mercedes being a step ahead, he said, “Quite frankly, I don’t know how much power we’re going to get to the first race, so God knows how the rest of the paddock knows what we’re getting there!”

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