Red Bull Racing were the first team in 2026 to lift the curtain to showcase the colours of their F1 challenger. They came together with the Ford Racing team at the Michigan Central Station in Detroit to unveil the liveries of both Red Bull teams.
Back in 2023, Red Bull Powertrains and Ford confirmed a long-term F1 partnership ahead of the 2026 regulation overhaul.
Until the end of 2025, Red Bull continued to run Honda power units under RBPT label. They held both the intellectual property and operational control of Honda. From 2026, the engines will be branded Red Bull Ford Powertrains, marking Ford’s arrival as a strategic partner. They will act as a technical partner. Ford will contribute to battery technology, electric motor systems, control software, and hybrid integration.
RBPT, formed in 2022, marked the first time since Red Bull’s 2005 debut that the team would design and build its own power unit in-house. Ben Hodgkinson was appointed Technical Director of the project.
During the launch event, Hodgkinson joined remotely from Milton Keynes and shared about the scale of their new project and a personal tribute embedded within it.
Hodgkinson shares the scale of the Red Bull Ford Power Trains project
Ben Hodgkinson shared that the scale of the project is massive. It is what made him gravitate towards it after a long spell at Mercedes F1.
“The scale of this project is something that’s really quite special and unique. I mean, it’s part of what attracted me to it in the first place, to be honest. It’s the gravity of what starting from scratch actually meant has been dawning on me pretty rapidly after the first few months of starting.”
Hodgkinson mentioned that hard work of over 4 years and of 700 teammates has gone into the project. And it was especially challenging to recruit those 700 efficient workers.
“It’s the culmination of four years of hard graft from 700 teammates that are putting their all into it. In those four years, we actually had to find those 700 teammates and recruit them, trying to find the very, very best in their field. We had to build three factories, had to commission all the equipment, state-of-the-art facilities that we’ve got here in Milton Keynes.
“And this is an absolutely huge statement from Red Bull. I think it’s the kind of project that somebody only like Red Bull would take on. The partnership with Ford absolutely supports that.”
He added that this vision stretches back to the final ambitions of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz. As a tribute, the engine will be named the DM01.
“This is one of Dietrich Mateschitz’ last ambitions to have this power unit being designed and developed on campus in Milton Keynes together with the chassis. And it’s an absolute honour and privilege and really a chance of a lifetime.”
Red Bull F1 honours founder Dietrich Mateschitz’s memory
Team Principal and CEO, Laurent Mekies who was on stage shared that the project carries the fingerprints of Dietrich Mateschitz, whose final ambition was to see Red Bull design and develop its own power unit alongside its chassis.
“This very first engine is called DM01 in tribute to Mr Mateschitz,” Mekies confirmed.
“You know, it’s his vision, his boldness. He really is a Red Bull spirit that anyway is the reason why we are all here today. [Mateschitz] made that unbelievable decision at the time to put us onto that route of being completely independent with both the chassis and the power unit. He was not scared by the scale of the challenge.”
Dietrich Mateschitz was the guiding force behind the Red Bull Racing project and sadly passed away in 2022. The decision to honour his vision through its in-house power unit programme stands as a fitting tribute to his legacy.
Hodgkinson shares a defining moment in this F1 journey
The entire Red Bull team is preparing for Barcelona testing, scheduled to take place in nine days. Hodgkinson confirmed engine 312 is running calibration programmes alongside ongoing durability testing. When asked about a personal milestone, he noted that there have been many and the current power unit represents their sixth generation.
“Last weekend was a particularly personal moment for me and all of my teammates where the Red Bull engine and the Red Bull chassis got married together in a race bay. It’s kind of poignant that every single second of running up until that point had been done on a dyno. And this time it was running on its own in the back of a car in a race bay.”
Hodgkinson added:
“And to hear it fire up was a really emotional moment for me. It was the RB22, the Red Bull chassis, and the DM01, the Red Bull 4 powertrains engine, coming together as a pure Red Bull thoroughbred. It was very special indeed.”
Red Bull finished third in each of the last two seasons. They had dominated the first two seasons of the regulation cycle. With Ford now on board, the Milton Keynes team will target a return to the top under the new rules. Attention now turns to the DM01 engine, with Barcelona testing in nine days. The F1 Australian GP follows just forty days later.
