The issue in the background is not goat’s wool, but it is becoming substantial. Perhaps strategic. The question of the 2026 engines is far from closed, despite the fact that Ferrari has given its go-ahead to the signing of the regulation to which Mercedes, Alpine, Honda, Audi and RBPT have already adhered.
Red Bull Powertrains Limited, like Audi, has obtained from the FIA the status of new manufacturer that builds its own power unit and will be able to enjoy a great advantage in the development of this new unit in terms of budget and dyno tests. The Scuderia had tried to make a strong opposition against the privilege granted to Milton Keynes, but had to yield on this point, keeping open other “details” for discussion which are by no means trifles.
The Gazzetta dello Sport edition on newsstands published an interesting piece in which it is explained that RBPT will not be considered a new manufacturer, attributing to Ferrari the merit of having managed to change the cards on the table.
The feeling is that the truth may lie somewhere in between: Red Bull Powertrains Limited will be considered as a new engine manufacturer, but the privileges will not be the same as those granted to Audi. In short, we are discussing how much between 0 and 100% the structure of Milton Keynes should be considered… new. The FIA would be inclined to recognize 90% of the new manufacturer status, since RBPT currently assembles battery packs for PU Honda and, therefore, cannot be assimilated to Audi.
Moreover, pursuant to article 5 of appendix 5 of the PU Technical Regulations 2026, the option of “…partial New PU Manufacturer'” is read.
The status, therefore, is not in question: the limits will have to be circumscribed, because aspects are emerging that, perhaps, had been underestimated.
Indeed, in the summer of 2022, the FIA World Council approved the introduction of the cost limit for engines. The new financial regulation which is already in force allows for a spending limit of 95 million dollars a year until 2025, while from 2026, the year of the debut of the new PUs, the threshold will be raised to 130 million dollars.
The larger manufacturers, which have complete and tested workforces, we are talking for example of the Brixworth staff for Mercedes and Maranello for Ferrari, are discovering that the wage bill eats up a lot of the budget, while RBPT and Audi have structures that need to be dimensioned and they are still looking for staff to complete the organizational charts.
The Reb Bull RB18 RBPTHonda power unit
For the day-to-day management of the current power units and the design, construction and development of a 2026 engine from scratch, there are fewer resources than for running the chassis area: this year the teams will have 153 million dollars for the machines and 58 millions less for engines. But the study is not only on the new, much simplified endothermic, but extends to the electric which will have to supply 50% of the power and to the e-fuel which will be made mandatory in 2026. Each line of development will need its own test benches to works that will have to march in parallel.
In short, there is the risk that research and experimentation work in the power unit area will stop long before the end of the season due to the money quota or the hours allowed to use the test benches. Being new Builders, especially early on, will be a huge plus.
There are burning issues on the table such as the drastic cut in personnel to increase the share of the budget available for research, or the increase in the hours of bench tests, or the revision of the spending limit. And it won’t be easy to find a team that satisfies everyone…
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