Christian Horner lifts lid on Red Bull-McLaren power unit talks

Bahrain Grand Prix

Horner lifts lid on Red Bull-McLaren power unit talks

McLaren is weighing up its options for a 2026 power supplier and they're eyeing Red Bull as a potential partner

Sam Hall

Friday 3 March 2023 20:03

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has spoken for the first time about the visit of McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown to discuss a potential power unit deal for 2026.

Red Bull will become an official power unit supplier in F1 as of the 2026 season when its partnership with Ford goes live alongside the new regulations.

Speaking ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Horner said: “As a power unit manufacturer for 2026, it’s obvious that discussions are going to be held regarding potential powertrain supplies.

"That’s only natural that we would speak with potential customers."

Despite this, Horner then conceded that looking for a customer team beyond Red Bull and AlphaTauri is not something that is on the immediate to-do list.

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He added: “From what we see now, there is no money in supplying customer teams. It is not a profitable business."

McLaren team principal Stella also has say on talks

Sitting alongside Horner in the team representative's press conference, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was equally open about the discussions.

Keeping his options open, however, Stella was quick to praise Mercedes – the manufacturer that McLaren returned to in 2021.

“We have a solid partnership with HPP [Mercedes High Performance Powertrains],” said Stella. “At the same time, it’s obvious that looking far forward you want to understand what’s available.

“I think that’s natural. It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.”