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Behind the scenes at Red Bull and Ford's F1 engine project
Earlier this summer Red Bull Powertrains opened its doors to a select group of media
for a unique inside look at its 2026 F1 engine project
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This hallway is named after Steve Brodie, one of the first employees to come over from
Mercedes HPP in August 2021, who played an important role in setting up the Powertrains facility. His official title is 'Head of Power Unit Operations', which means
Brodie is in charge of the ICE and ERS build shops to make sure Red Bull-Ford build it to the correct specifications, standards and consistency.
Brodie's Boulevard leads to the engine store, where various engine parts are sorted. From there, it goes to the cleaning area and then to the build shop, where the internal combustion engines are assembled. As everything has to be spotless and precise, this assembly area looks more like a laboratory than a regular workshop. One half is for a V6 engine, the other for a single cylinder, which is used to make development more efficient.
"I'm obviously a bit biased, but the set-up we have here looks even more state-of-the-art than what Mercedes has," Brodie smiles. "But it should be, as I had a lot of freedom to come up with this set-up myself."
When it comes to testing, Brodie hands over to Florian Niehaves. The German engineer previously worked at AVL, where Red Bull also bought gear for the engine facility, and now works directly for the Powertrains project.
He leads us into the next room, which is somewhat reminiscent of mission control for space missions. This is the hub for multiple testing rigs of individual engine components before they go onto the full power unit.
Manufacturers have to comply with strict testing rules in Formula 1. Each engine facility is only allowed to have three test benches for a full power unit, three for a single cylinder and two for the ERS. Red Bull Powertrains indicates that it is close to the limit of what is allowed in terms of equipment.
