2026 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[Cassius]

That is a misconception. Honda moved their most experienced personnel to other Honda departments and started too late with too ma y inpexperienced people.

There are very few Honda engineers who developed the RBPT powertrain.

[Badger]

...
If only they were as clever to see how Mercedes gamed the system to win ADUO by making everyone agree to the "measure only ICE, but grant tokens for entire PU"

That's so devastating...they didn't (presumably) win the engineering challenge but mastered the game on the green table. Another reason for me to dislike this team and Toto W.
It's highly likely CH would have used the media to the most to apply public pressure on FIA and F1 which would cause a lot of dislike for RBR from other fans. I'd guess RBR is applying pressure but more in a subtle way in the background which I prefer much more as it causes way less drama in forums and social media.
And I'd guess RBR never ever, even in their wildest dreams, thought to be on the sharp end of the ICE ranking. Basically they should be applauded and celebrated so much for that achievement if it weren't for this silly token restriction.
There were so much noise pre-2026 that e.g. Aramco has so much more experience and a big advantage with the fuel, Merc being Merc and also Honda was expected to be very competitive as they had one of the best PU before.
Imagine RBR would have stayed with Honda and have to deal with their PU now... absolutely no chance Max would continue with RBR.
So it's been the right decision to build their own PU. I was very sceptical and pessimistic but they have proved me wrong at least for the most topics of the PU.

Well a lot of that is actually true if you take into consideration this ICE is the result of mostly (ex)-Mercedes and (ex)-Honda engineers. That's why the current Honda ICE/PU is terrible... it's designed and created by a different group of Honda personal. They had no choice because cutting the program meant a lot of the original personal was redistributed (outside of) Honda.

False. RBPT has a very small amount of ex Honda engineers. After Honda pulled out they were mostly re-assigned to other projects within Honda automotive. Recruiting Honda engineers is difficult because they are based in Japan, often only speak Japanese, and usually don't have an interest working outside of Japan. Honda's current struggles have nothing to do with RBPT.

The head honchos within RBPT are almost all ex HPP, as are many of the middle management. For obvious reasons this was a much easier recruitment pool for a new engine project based in the UK.

[Wouter]

It looks like that the Red Bull summit is going into a conversation with the FIA this weekend. The Austrian racing stable had requested a review after the FIA designated them as the manufacturer with the best combustion engine, and that is one of the things they are going to discuss.

What has the FIA decided?

According to De Telegraaf, the FIA has taken this request very seriously. They would have freed ten people to check the dates again, and that review took eight (!) days in confiscation. However, the FIA continues to stand behind their decision, and they will talk about that this weekend with the senior gentlemen of Red Bull.

What's going to happen this weekend?

FIA headpiece Nikolas Tombazis is said to have invited the people of Red Bull to sit down with each other in Silverstone this weekend. Red Bull's sporty boss Oliver Mintzlaff and shareholder Mark Mateschitz will be present in the paddock this weekend, and so they will join the FIA. There all data will be gone through step by step and text and explanation will be given. According to De Telegraaf, there is also a conversation with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on the schedule, but here they will talk more about Red Bull's involvement in motorsport in general.

It's not the only conversations being held between Red Bull and the FIA. Later this week, according to the newspaper, there is also a conversation on the planning between Tombazis and Red Bull, here will also be team boss Laurent Mekies present. This would be a more technical conversation.

https://www.gptoday.net/nl/nieuws/f1/29 ... d-bull-top

[Valeo]

Used medium for both

[Juzh]

Another crap start and now pace is underwhelming and deployment seems to be off as well.

[Valeo]

Pace not great, the start and used tyres didn't help though...

[Vettel165]

Well they have time to fix something for real qualy and race now.

[Valeo]

[avantman]

I was disappointed when Max turned down Mercedes’ offer. I’m not anymore. Now I really hope he wins a couple more races this year and then walks away. His talent deserves better than taking part in the farce they still call Formula 1. No amount of money or titles could justify continuing this charade. He should never forget who he really is.

[pantherxxx]

Paul Monaghan misses the weekend, and now setup of the car is garbage. Why can't Red Bull keep their important personnel? What are they doing wrong?

[Sergej]

Paul Monaghan misses the weekend, and now setup of the car is garbage. Why can't Red Bull keep their important personnel? What are they doing wrong?

Budget cap, and seeking of new challenges I guess. Apparently he's going to Cadillac, probably they can afford to pay him much more than Red Bull.

[Rikhart]

Paul Monaghan misses the weekend, and now setup of the car is garbage. Why can't Red Bull keep their important personnel? What are they doing wrong?

It's cyclical, nothing stays at the top forever.