2025 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[edu2703]

Red Bull was essentially forced to develop its own engine after Honda announced its exit from F1, because neither Mercedes nor Ferrari would willingly supply an engine to a direct competitor, and Renault engines weren't even a viable option to consider.

Only after a few years did Honda reverse course and decide to continue, but by then it was too late, as Red Bull was already committed to developing its own power unit and couldn't simply throw away all the money invested to return to the arms of a company as indecisive as Honda, which might announce (again) next year they will leave F1.

In short, RBPT-Ford is a gamble, and Red Bull currently has no other option than to move forward with it. If it goes very wrong in 2026, begging for an engine from someone else won't be an option; they have to keep investing, developing, and see if it improves in the following years. If it's still rubbish, then failure can be admitted and return as a customer team.

The problem is that there's a spending cap on engine development. If the engine goes (very) wrong, they can't throw billions of dollars at it and redesign the engine from scratch like Honda did, because of the cost cap.

Therefore, I personally don't have high expectations for this engine, and I recognize that it will be a year of learning and maturing, during which the team's fans will have to be very patient.

[Bill]

Redbull powerunit program maybe expensive but Redbull is not doing it alone they have a major car company Ford, so the financial burden is shared. Redbull can do a roadcar in the future and put a racecar engine in the car like honda do.f1 is now a profitable business so teams no longer have to fork there own money to sustain the operation.

[CHT]

Redbull powerunit program maybe expensive but Redbull is not doing it alone they have a major car company Ford, so the financial burden is shared. Redbull can do a roadcar in the future and put a racecar engine in the car like honda do.f1 is now a profitable business so teams no longer have to fork there own money to sustain the operation.

I have reasons to believe that the key people at RBR who made the decision to develop own PU are no longer at RBR.
Ford can certainly leverage of RBR success (if any) to for Ford branding in the US due to increase popularity of the sports in US.

[Wouter]

According to Erik van Haren is Helmut Marko fired by Mintzlaff who is now in charge of both RB teams!
It is behind a paywall but here you can read the whole article:

https://archive.is/5zewn
.

After Christian Horner, Helmut Marko is also away from Red Bull: why that doesn't affect future Max Verstappen

ABU DHABI - Top Advisor Dr. Helmut Marko and Red Bull Racing are finally spliting up after this month. For the outside guard, that may sound like a big surprise, but the farewell of the now 82-year-old Austrian has been signing off behind the scenes for a while.

Erik van Haren

After the last race in Abu Dhabi, Marko hinted that he might not be employed by Red Bull in 2026, despite a still-continuing contract. On Monday, the knot was finally cut in the Emirates. Marko had an already planned conversation with, among others, Red Bulls sports boss Oliver Mintzlaff, who has taken control of the Austrian/English racing team of Max Verstappen.

[lio007]

According to Erik van Haren is Helmut Marko fired by Mintzlaff who is now in charge of both RB teams!
It is behind a paywall but here you can read the whole article:

https://archive.is/5zewn
.

After Christian Horner, Helmut Marko is also away from Red Bull: why that doesn't affect future Max Verstappen

ABU DHABI - Top Advisor Dr. Helmut Marko and Red Bull Racing are finally spliting up after this month. For the outside guard, that may sound like a big surprise, but the farewell of the now 82-year-old Austrian has been signing off behind the scenes for a while.

Erik van Haren

After the last race in Abu Dhabi, Marko hinted that he might not be employed by Red Bull in 2026, despite a still-continuing contract. On Monday, the knot was finally cut in the Emirates. Marko had an already planned conversation with, among others, Red Bulls sports boss Oliver Mintzlaff, who has taken control of the Austrian/English racing team of Max Verstappen.

Fired is a bit of a strong word in that context. Both reached the conclusion to part ways.
Helmut Marko is 82 and can't be with the team forever. Good management must also take care of succession plans.

Some don't like Helmut Marko, but from my side, he's a racer, never gave up and wanted to be competitive.
Some of his comments have been unnecessary also with media didn't him a favor from time to time, but he stood out in this corporate and PR-driven world. It will be again a bit more quiet in the paddock with another character (apparently) gone.

Until now we can not say that Mintzlaff made a bad decision for the team. It is important that he does not get involved in the day to day operation of the team, which do not seem to be the case.

[basti313]

According to Erik van Haren is Helmut Marko fired by Mintzlaff who is now in charge of both RB teams!

Sorry, but this quote is simply wrong. There is no "fired".

Fired is a bit of a strong word in that context. Both reached the conclusion to part ways.

It is simply wrong. In such a state it is totally normal to part ways like this. Contract still lives on and the man gets paid. You can neither "fire" someone out of his contract nor do you want him to work till the contract finishes (because he knows everything).

Helmut Marko is 82 and can't be with the team forever. Good management must also take care of succession plans.

Yes. I was always surprised, that he stayed. I would spend time at my mansion and go to races as a VIP when I like to go, enjoy the city...not like him 82 and standing every second week somewhere on this earth from Wed till Sun at the track...

Some don't like Helmut Marko, but from my side, he's a racer, never gave up and wanted to be competitive.

Well he was always on the "villain" side of things towards the UK press and fans. I think it is even remarkable how less of a general villain he is. I always admired his management skills, one of the best F1 ever had.

[Wouter]

According to Erik van Haren is Helmut Marko fired by Mintzlaff who is now in charge of both RB teams!

.
Sorry, but this quote is simply wrong. There is no "fired".

.

Dunne liet zijn contract bij McLaren inderdaad ontbinden en had een overeenkomst getekend met Marko, maar de Oostenrijker werd teruggefloten door de Red Bull-top. Die wist nergens van af en zag het niet zitten in Dunne.
Revolutie bij Red Bull: ruim drie maanden na sensationeel ontslag teambaas Christian Horner is er veel veranderd bij team van Max Verstappen

Ook de uitspraken van Marko over Kimi Antonelli, na de Grand Prix van Qatar, vielen niet in goede aarde. Maandag werd tijdens een gesprek plus daaropvolgend diner in de Emiraten definitief de conclusie getrokken dat het voor beide partijen beter is om uit elkaar te gaan.

.
Translate it yourself! Marko was fired because of his actions of Dunne and Kimi.

[Emag]

The reshuffling at Red Bull over the past few years really hasn’t looked great from the outside. Ever since Mateschitz passed away, it feels like a power vacuum opened up, leading to an internal struggle with no clear winners. Somehow similar to what happened with McLaren towards the end of the Ron Dennis era. It’s hard to know what the new upper management actually wants for Red Bull Racing, but I do hope this team doesn’t slide into becoming just a flashy marketing project. Although to be fair, their recent investments do suggest they still intend to stay competitive.

As for Max, if he didn’t walk away this year, I honestly don’t see him leaving RedBull at all. He’ll probably wait to see how 2026 plays out, and after that, if he doesn't like where he stands, retirement feels like a real possibility. He’s said many times he’s not chasing records, and I believe him. Don't think Max is a bullshitter in that sense. He has a family and a young daughter at home, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he eventually decides he’d rather spend more time with them. Got nothing else to prove too, he is pretty much cemented as the goat of his era.

[WardenOfTheNorth]

The reshuffling at Red Bull over the past few years really hasn’t looked great from the outside. Ever since Mateschitz passed away, it feels like a power vacuum opened up, leading to an internal struggle with no clear winners. Somehow similar to what happened with McLaren towards the end of the Ron Dennis era. It’s hard to know what the new upper management actually wants for Red Bull Racing, but I do hope this team doesn’t slide into becoming just a flashy marketing project. Although to be fair, their recent investments do suggest they still intend to stay competitive.

As for Max, if he didn’t walk away this year, I honestly don’t see him leaving RedBull at all. He’ll probably wait to see how 2026 plays out, and after that, if he doesn't like where he stands, retirement feels like a real possibility. He’s said many times he’s not chasing records, and I believe him. Don't think Max is a bullshitter in that sense. He has a family and a young daughter at home, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he eventually decides he’d rather spend more time with them. Got nothing else to prove too, he is pretty much cemented as the goat of his era.

Agreed. He has also spoken many times of his desire to race in other series.

Didn't he also say that his future is with Red Bull or not in F1?

[Wouter]

[pantherxxx]

The Red Bull-Ford partnership is not a gamble; it's a calculated strategic maneuver built on a confluence of massive financial investment and perfect technical alignment.

Ford's return to F1 is directly linked to its future commercial success. They are competing to win, with CEO Jim Farley stating, "We will be competing to win in F1, the pinnacle for motorsport, with Red Bull Racing."

The 2026 F1 regulations—requiring a nearly 300% increase in electric power— perfectly match Ford's current R&D focus, creating a time-saving advantage. Demonstrators like the SuperVan 4.2 are essentially uncapped test mules that proved Ford could solve the thermal management crisis (the biggest hurdle for the 2026 engine) by extracting and sustaining 2,000 hp from its EV components without failure. Ford is supplying expertise in battery cell and electric motor technology, power unit control software, and analytics. This is uncapped corporate R&D being transferred directly to a cost-capped F1 project.

So in short: Ford is not just a partner of necessity for Red Bull; they are a strategic partner whose massive, uncapped investment in relevant EV technology has been perfectly timed to create a structural advantage for the 2026 F1 engine rules.

[woocasz]

It'll get overlooked in history, but that was one of the most impressive seasons in F1 driver history by Verstappen. It's crazy how many times he embarrassed the Mclaren drivers.

It's sad that it'll go down in the history as the same fate as SV, who could only win in a Newey designed car.

He won 8 races this year, proving that even without a Newey-designed car, he can win the most races in a season. Vettel was beaten by Leclerc with the same machinery—who will do that to Verstappen? No one.

so, in the first 15 races he won 2 GP, (why only 2, when he is such a god-like driver?)
after that in Monza, Red Bull introduced a significant floor upgrade for Max Verstappen,
surprise surprise in the remaining 9 races he won 6 GP...
without this new floor he would end up with like 4-5 win in the season.
so:
- new floor (close gap to Mclaren or even quicker that Mclaren)
- Mclaren stop developing car in May/June
- Mclarens papaya rules
- two equal drivers racing for Mclaren (takig points from each other)

come on. max is quick but not like god-like quick.
get real

[Bill]

Last year was not a newey designed car in fact one of newey greatest complain was that wache was not willing to take advice from consultant. the car has design cues on engine cover from mercedes that he didn't like.the boys wanted to do it on their own according to him that's why he left for aston.these matter have been discussed here and wache has been blamed multiple times but know people want to twist facts to feet a narrative. Max in theory could have won the championship if he didn't bully Russell in Barcelona.

[genarro]

It will be interesting to see how compromised the 2026 car will be given that they completeley focused on this season developement to give max a chance to win the title.

Plus all the noise that the engine programe isnt delivering as expected...

[Emag]

The Red Bull-Ford partnership is not a gamble; it's a calculated strategic maneuver built on a confluence of massive financial investment and perfect technical alignment.

Ford's return to F1 is directly linked to its future commercial success. They are competing to win, with CEO Jim Farley stating, "We will be competing to win in F1, the pinnacle for motorsport, with Red Bull Racing."

The 2026 F1 regulations—requiring a nearly 300% increase in electric power— perfectly match Ford's current R&D focus, creating a time-saving advantage. Demonstrators like the SuperVan 4.2 are essentially uncapped test mules that proved Ford could solve the thermal management crisis (the biggest hurdle for the 2026 engine) by extracting and sustaining 2,000 hp from its EV components without failure. Ford is supplying expertise in battery cell and electric motor technology, power unit control software, and analytics. This is uncapped corporate R&D being transferred directly to a cost-capped F1 project.

So in short: Ford is not just a partner of necessity for Red Bull; they are a strategic partner whose massive, uncapped investment in relevant EV technology has been perfectly timed to create a structural advantage for the 2026 F1 engine rules.

This is some headline grabbing mumbo-jumbo that chatgpt pulled up, I can tell that much.

But no matter how big Ford is in the automotive world, they have no experience in F1. On their own I doubt they could go up against the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari. I actually think RBPT will pull a bigger weight in terms of designing a competitive PU, and Ford can fill in the gaps in testing and R&D infrastructure. Will that be enough? Time will tell.