Red Bull Racing backs Verstappen and wants different engines in 2027

The FIA and the eleven F1 teams announced last week that adjustments have been made to the power units starting from the upcoming Miami Grand Prix. For example, this should allow drivers to go flat out during qualifying. However, these are software-based changes; the complex system with the battery and the internal combustion engine remains intact.

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella stated in conversation with, among others, GPblog that the hardware should also be looked at. This could allow for an adjustment to the 50/50 concept, in which the power unit is split evenly between the battery and the internal combustion engine. That can only happen at the earliest for the 2027 season, as the engines would actually need to be changed in that case, which is a costly, complex, and above all time-consuming process.

Stella’s remark was striking, because his McLaren uses Mercedes engines. No one will deny that these are the strongest power units on the grid. Mercedes will undoubtedly push back if asked to make such changes to the engine.

Mercedes, however, has little choice if there is a supermajority for this idea, with four of the five manufacturers, the FIA, and Formula One Management supporting the plan. This makes it all the more important to find out the positions of the other manufacturers, such as Red Bull Ford.

That team turns out to be in favor of hardware changes, in order to ensure that drivers can once again go flat out in the future. Reportedly, Audi is also not opposed in principle to such an adjustment. As a result, such a supermajority is becoming increasingly realistic.