Is Red Bull really talking to Aston Martin about a new power unit? Team principal Laurent Mekies says no serious talks are underway.
The Silverstone squad has battled weak power‑unit output all year, its strained Honda tie‑up prompting rumours of a switch to Red Bull or even Ford.
Red Bull’s powertrain has shocked the grid, the FIA calling its internal combustion engine the benchmark and delivering two wins for Max Verstappen. Interest from customer teams is natural, but Mekies stressed the unit isn’t for sale.
“Look, we got a lot of unwanted positive publicity about our engine’s performance, which naturally attracted attention from many teams,” he explained.
“Are we having any serious conversations to supply another team? No. We don’t feel ready for that. Is it set in stone for the next five years? No. I can’t predict the future, but we have plenty of work to improve the power unit and its car integration,” Mekies added.
For my money, Red Bull still sees plenty of work ahead on its engine. Mekies insisted nobody at Red Bull Powertrains believes the project is finished.
“I’m smiling because you’ll struggle to find anyone at RBPT who thinks the engine is sorted,” he said. “There are countless drivability tweaks we know we can improve, and we will.”
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
He noted that maximizing the link between engine and chassis drove Red Bull to build its own unit.
“One of the main reasons you use your own power unit is to extract a competitive edge from its integration, and that’s the goal we’re all chasing,” he explained.
Aston Martin’s Mike Krack tried to calm speculation, reaffirming the team’s loyalty to its Japanese partner.
“We have a long‑term partner in Honda, which just celebrated its 500th race this weekend. I’m confident we’ll share our first victory together soon,” he said.
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– The Team