Red Bull boss Oliver Mintzlaff says Christian Horner deserves \u201ccredit\u201d for \u201cfinding the right people\u201d to work at the team\u2019s new engine division.<\/p>\n
It comes as Red Bull prepares to reveal the livery of the new RB22 car, to be driven by Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar in F1 2026, later today (Thursday).<\/p>\n
\u2018Credit to Christian Horner\u2019 ahead of Red Bull F1 2026 launch<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Red Bull will compete with its own engines for the first time in F1 2026 via its in-house engine division, Red Bull Powertrains, which is working in collaboration with US manufacturer Ford.<\/p>\n Horner, who led Red Bull to six constructors\u2019 championships and eight drivers\u2019 titles, played an instrumental role in the company\u2019s decision to produce its own engines from 2026.<\/p>\n The 52-year-old was sacked by Red Bull in the aftermath of last year\u2019s British Grand Prix, bringing an end to his stint of more than two decades in charge.<\/p>\n Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar to compete for Red Bull Racing in F1 2026<\/p>\n F1 driver contracts: What is the contract status of every driver on the F1 2026 grid?<\/a><\/p>\n Is this Max Verstappen\u2019s \u2018easy way out\u2019 of Red Bull?<\/a><\/p>\n As revealed by PlanetF1.com last year<\/a>, Red Bull and sister outfit Racing Bulls will become the first teams to take the covers off their 2026 liveries at a Ford season-launch event in Detroit on Thursday.<\/p>\n And ahead of the unveiling of the team\u2019s 2026 look, Mintzlaff, the chief executive of new investments and corporate projects at Red Bull GmbH, has acknowledged Horner\u2019s role in gearing Red Bull Powertrains for success by bringing \u201ca lot of good people on board.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked what his big dream is for the coming years, Mintzlaff told Dutch publication De Telegraaf:\u00a0\u201cFor us, it will be particularly interesting to see how we fare with our own engine.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember team founder Dietrich Mateschitz telling me a few years ago that we were going to build our own engine.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought to myself: \u2018What the f**k, what does that mean?\u2019 And then I heard how much it was going to cost\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cBut it was his big dream and credit to Christian Horner for finding the right people for that department.<\/p>\n \u201cNow I just hope that we can all make Dietrich\u2019s big dream come true. That we will win again in the new era and write new success stories.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this is going to be a great story, with our two teams: two young drivers in the talent team [Racing Bulls] and Isack Hadjar getting a chance alongside Max.<\/p>\n \u201cThis suits Red Bull; we find the best talent for the best positions. I think we\u2019ve done pretty well overall over the last 21 years.\u201d<\/p>\n RBPT-Ford will be one of two new engine manufacturers on the F1 2026 grid along with Audi, which has completed its rebrand of the previous Sauber team.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Red Bull\u2019s previous engine partner Honda is making an official return to F1 with the Aston Martin team having withdrawn at the end of Verstappen\u2019s first title-winning season in 2021.<\/p>\n In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com<\/a> last year, Horner claimed that the engine division is \u201cby far the biggest challenge that we\u2019ve taken on in Formula 1.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Mintzlaff has argued that there is no reason for Red Bull to enter the new season with trepidation.<\/p>\n Asked what will happen if Red Bull finds itself sixth or seventh in the 2026 pecking order, he replied: \u201cNo one knows \u2013 maybe we\u2019ll be the second or third team.<\/p>\n \u201cI know we have some extremely talented people working for us. And it\u2019s not just about the engine, but also the chassis.<\/p>\n \u201cChristian Horner has also brought a lot of good people on board in recent years, just look at the engine department.<\/p>\n \u201cThere will always be staff leaving when a competitor makes a good offer. But I also think that many people see that there is a different atmosphere here now.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that they see Red Bull as a winning, cool team that gives talent the opportunity to develop themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n