JANUARY 30, 2026

Red Bull warns rules could lock in engine advantage

Ben Hodgkinson has warned that Formula 1's 2026 power unit regulations risk freezing in an early competitive advantage - amid growing paddock belief that Mercedes may already be setting the clear benchmark.

As 'shakedown week' in Barcelona races towards its end, the Red Bull-Ford engine boss said the FIA's homologation framework could unintentionally reward manufacturers who start strongest, with limited scope for others to recover.

Personally, I would like to get rid of the homologation system and just compete at full strength without any restrictions, Hodgkinson said. That's my true wish. We already have cost caps and dyno time limits, so I think there are enough restrictions in place.

The former Mercedes engineer stressed that power unit development operates on a fundamentally different timeline to chassis upgrades - something he believes regulators underestimate.

What I don't think is fully understood among the rule makers is that the timeframe for maturing an idea for a power unit is much longer than for a chassis, he explained. If you need to make a change, you're not just updating two cars, you're potentially updating the whole engine pool - all 12 engines. That takes time.

Hodgkinson said the homologation rules also discourage risk-taking.

We can't just bet on something that hasn't been fully proven, because that would put us in a difficult position, he said. Some parts take 12 weeks to manufacture, then a similar amount of time to validate, and then a similar amount of time to get them into the race pool.

As a result, he said, it can take more than six months - up to 36 weeks - for a new power unit concept to reach a raceable grand prix car.

For these reasons, if one team has an advantage in power units at the opening race, it will take a considerable amount of time for others to catch up, Hodgkinson warned.

The comments come as Mercedes is widely viewed as the standout early performer in Barcelona, drawing comparisons with its dominance at the start of the 2014 hybrid era. At the same time, Red Bull-Ford's debut power unit has quietly impressed, despite the team publicly playing down expectations.

James Vowles described Red Bull's effort so far as a brilliant job, while rumours of overheating issues have been countered by drivers running the engine on track.

After testing the unit at Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson was upbeat.

The reliability is good, so we can check that one off, Lawson said in Barcelona.

(GMM)