Dr. Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s top F1 consultant, has revealed significant shifts in the team’s engine strategy as they transition away from Honda towards an independent future. With Honda set to align with Aston Martin at the end of 2025, Red Bull is actively developing its own engine operations in Milton-Keynes, collaborating with Ford.
Marko, in a conversation with Osterreich newspaper, expressed confidence in this ambitious project: “Even though we are still a long way from being able to compete competitively, everything is going according to plan and the performance curve is right.” Despite no longer having ‘works’ status, the current Red Bull-Honda collaboration dominated the 2023 championship.
Dismissing any notion of scrapping ‘Red Bull Powertrains’ in favor of sticking with Honda post-2026, Marko underscored Red Bull’s commitment to its own engine: “No, it has to work. From 2026 we will drive with our own engine.” He aims to maximize Honda’s performance potential in the interim, a task he personally oversees: “Honda was my deal, so I will continue to look after it.”
Marko, who has committed to Red Bull for three more seasons, including the start of the new engine era in 2026, also mentioned a shift in his dealings with Honda. He will reduce his travels to Japan, focusing instead on the packed F1 race schedule: “No, everything is arranged so that I don’t have to go there anymore. 24 races is enough for me, and one of them is in Japan anyway.”
On the driver front, while Max Verstappen’s contract extends to 2028, Sergio Perez’s tenure is nearing its end: “As of now he (Perez) will fulfill his contract until the end of 2024, then we’ll see,” Marko stated. Potential successors include Daniel Ricciardo and the promising Liam Lawson, whom Marko plans to give more race exposure before a full-time seat in 2025: “Yes, and before that he should at least drive a few more races so that we can see where his potential really lies.”
