Overview
- Red Bull and Ford unveiled 2026 liveries in Detroit, with the cars kept private ahead of a late-January shakedown in Barcelona and Bahrain testing to follow.
- Red Bull Ford Powertrains runs from Milton Keynes with about 700 staff, a unit built from scratch since 2021 after the 2023 tie-up with Ford.
- Ford has produced 12 power unit parts and is rotating engineers into the project, with four currently on site who have addressed issues such as vibration.
- The 2026 regulations dramatically increase hybrid contribution to roughly half a lap’s power, with an estimated 470 bhp from the electric system.
- Team principal Laurent Mekies warned of early-season struggles before improvement and confirmed the DM01 power unit designation, with the season opening in Melbourne on March 8.