Mateschitz heard the first Red Bull engine before his death, reveals Horner

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has revealed that the company's owner Dietrich Mateschitz could listen to the sound of the first Red Bull engine before his tragic death.

For 2026, Red Bull and sister team RB will switch from Honda engines to power units developed by Red Bull Powertrains after the Milton Keynes-based outfit elected to manufacture their own engines when the new technical regulations come into effect.

Red Bull will partner up with American automotive giant Ford which the car manufacturer's contribution set to come in the form of battery expertise.

2026 will see that the 1600 cc, 90-degree V6 architecture remains unchanged, with a similar RPM limit. However, the MGU-H will be ditched while further key changes will include an increase in output for the MGU-K and much tighter constraints on internal combustion engine design.

The ICE will run on 100% sustainable fuel by 2026, which must be sourced from non-food bio sources, municipal waste or certified carbon capture schemes.

Ahead of this year's British Grand Prix, media representatives were given a rare look inside the the Jochen-Rindt building at the Red Bull campus in Milton Keynes where team boss Christian Horner explained how the company is progressing with the very ambitious project.

Reflecting on the sad loss of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, Horner noted: "The first start of this V6 was in August 2022. Dietrich Mateschitz could hear this first Red Bull engine just before he died.

"After his death, we decided to brand all our engines as DM so that Dietrich would always remain at the heart of Red Bull cars."

After initial discussions with Porsche about a possible collaboration fell through, Red Bull elected to team up with American car giant, Ford to design its very first power unit.

"When it became clear that it wasn't going to work with Porsche, I literally got Christian Horner's email address, sent him an email and asked, 'Hey, maybe you'd like to talk to us?'" Ford Motorsport boss Mark Rushbrook explains.

Reflecting on the collaboration with Red Bull, Rushbrook said: "We don't say: 'You have to do it this way.' No, Red Bull has been in Formula 1 for years, so we mainly ask them what they need from us to be successful together."

"Based on our initial discussions, we originally only wanted to contribute to the electrical parts of the 2026 engine, but now we are also contributing to the turbocharger and the test benches for the combustion engine, partly because Ford already had knowledge or equipment for that."

Explaining why Red Bull have decided to set up an own engine department, Horner said that the company did not want to depend on an external manufacturer anymore.

"We are now taking our fate completely into our own hands. Apart from Ferrari, we are the only team in Formula 1 that will have the engine and chassis departments at the same location from 2026."