When the new Formula 1 season gets under way in Australia this weekend, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner will be in the unusual position of being involved in two races, not one. As well as trying to maintain the team's dominance of the sport, which has brought Max Verstappen four successive drivers' titles, he is also overseeing progress towards a fully integrated chassis and engine business for 2026. With their agreement with Honda coming to an end this season, Red Bull are bringing engine construction in-house at their Milton Keynes headquarters to meet the challenge of new F1 regulations next year.
"For me, this next chapter is truly exciting. It's by far our biggest challenge, not for the weak hearted, it's going to be an epic journey and one I'm relishing and looking forward to," he told BBC Look East prior to departing for Melbourne. "We've had tremendous success designing and manufacturing our own chassis and working with different engine suppliers, with Renault and latterly Honda, but it felt this was the right time with this new set of engine regulations (for 2026) to take control of our own destiny and hand build our own engine.
"It's a race against the clock because this time next year those engines will be sitting in our Grand Prix cars." Next year F1 cars will be 30kg lighter, 10cm narrower, use fully sustainable fuels and have hybrid engines with both electric and internal combustion power. Some drivers have expressed concerns about the changes, includin.
