Christian Horner: We want to achieve the impossible



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Christian Horner: We want to achieve the impossible

Red Bull is not particularly upset after they refused to cooperate with Porsche "I think as soon as we made the decision, there was a full commitment, and it's no small undertaking,” said Horner for motorsport.com “I mean, some people think we're completely mad to take on the likes of Ferrari, and Mercedes and Renault and potentially even Honda, starting from scratch.

But that is exactly the Red Bull way: to achieve the impossible. They said the same thing about designing and building a chassis. I think it gives us a unique position, other than Ferrari to have everything under one roof. With the synergies that that creates, it allows us to look at other projects, for example, the RB17, and whether we produce our own power unit, for that project.

So it strategically is a logical investment after Honda's announcement to withdraw: to take our future into our own hands rather than being reliant on being a customer." Motorsport reporters asked him; If the money aspects meant it made sense to commit to being fully independent? “Obviously we have the burden of cost of existing power units, plus development at the moment,” he said, “But by time we get to 2026, the budget cap will have fully kicked in.

And the costs become far more bearable than they were two or three years ago. “The cost cap again was fundamental to becoming a new entrant. And the way we're structured, we have the capability within a facility of producing engines for up to four teams.

But that certainly won't be the initial goal. The initial plan is obviously to supply the two Red Bull-owned teams."

Honda

Dilemmas always exist. "What we were interested in is, when you're building a power unit entity from scratch, with an OEM, what can they potentially bring to the party that we didn't have access to? Honda is thinking about leaving F1, but the decision is pending.

“Our train has left the station for '26,” added Horner. “We have an engine and prototype running, we have all of the dynos commissioned. We're up and running. “Honda, again, a great company, they announced their withdrawal from F1 to focus their attention on the electrification of their products, moving away from the combustion engine.

So, you would assume if they were to look at returning to F1, that would have to be taken into account. “Whether or not there was some interest potentially, on the battery side, and any potential synergies there, it could be an interesting discussion.

"But the combustion and mechanical side of the engine, we're on a roadmap to 2026 that we're very happy with."