Christian Horner: Building Red Bull’s F1 engine was “scary as hell”

Christian Horner Calls Building First-In-House Powertrain “The Scariest Challenge” in Formula 1

Former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has openly acknowledged that developing the team’s power unit from zero specifications was “scary as hell”, following the engine’s inaugural race victories this 2026 campaign. This milestone arrives despite his dismissal from Red Bull last year.

Horner was ousted from his London‑based office after the 2025 British Grand Prix, when a sequence of weak performances merged with off‑track disputes to spark the removal. He was subsequently taken over by Laurent Mekies, who was then steering the Racing Bulls affiliate. Throughout his tenure, Horner had overseen Red Bull’s strategic alignment with Ford following Honda’s exit from the championship battle.

In stark contrast, the Ford‑paired power unit debuted on the grid early this season and soon earned credentials as the benchmark internal‑combustion engine approved by the FIA. Max Verstappen registered his first victory with the turbo‑charged unit at Sepang, securing a second win later in Singapore.

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Disclosing his thoughts to Motorsport.com regarding the power‑train triumph, Horner said: “It was arguably the biggest challenge I faced in my time at Red Bull, because it began from absolutely nothing. There was nothing whatsoever there at first. It was a full‑scale startup. Watching how the engine progressed—fabricating its own plants, casting pistons, milling cylinders from solid blocks—was truly impressive given the level of commitment poured into that project.”

This intensity derived directly from having no prior hands‑on experience designing engines. I am keenly proud of the achievements we saw—the engine taking its 16th race win in its very first season—and the contributions of everyone involved in pulling this off.

The conversation occurs alongside rumours about Horner’s forthcoming memoir *Drive*, in which he recounts how Niki Lauda attempted to secure him as a Mercedes chief before Toto Wolff accepted the position.

Looking ahead, Red Bull enter the next round in Austin trailing McLaren by seven points in the constructors’ tally.

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