Toto Wolff sees a huge challenge for Red Bull and jokes: 'They're going to be sh*t'

19:34, 01 Sep

byTim Kraaij

Red Bull Racing is set to launch an ambitious self-engine project called Red Bull Powertrains in 2026. A significant challenge, and one that has Toto Wolff openly questioning whether Red Bull can be competitive straight away in the upcoming Formula 1 season.

When it became apparent in 2021 that Honda was about to withdraw from Formula 1, Red Bull Racing had to look for a new engine partner. After a partnership with Renault came to an end, along with the collaboration with Honda. It posed internal questions: Do we want another customer engine, or are we going to do it ourselves?

Red Bull initially had talks with Porsche and almost struck a deal, but it was discarded at the last minute. Red Bull decided to develop an engine themselves and got Ford on board as a helping party. However, there are major doubts about whether Red Bull Racing can be successful right away in 2026.

What does Toto Wolff expect from Red Bull in 2026

‘’They are gonna be sh*t,’’ Toto Wolff started jokingly towards GPblog when asked about Red Bull in 2026. "My first answer would be that's Mount Everest to climb. Because our engine departments have grown over tens of years.’’

‘’And I think how the Red Bull engine was born is because Christian (Horner, ed.), wasn't keen to have a Porsche relationship. So the deal, I think the deal was almost done, that Porsche would own 50 % of the team, they would mirror the management side that Red Bull (GmbH) had in there, and they would provide the power unit."

''It's definitely a huge challenge they have chosen for themselves''

- Toto Wolff

‘’And I think that was agreed between the two top guys, Wolfgang Porsche and Dietrich Mateschitz, and then that didn't happen. And it didn't happen because of the idea that Red Bull shouldn't be dependent anymore on any other OEM or engine supplier. It should stand on its own legs, and that's obviously something that Dietrich Mateschitz has done all his life.’’

‘’Now, having said that, you can never underestimate anyone in this sport who has the firepower to build something from scratch with new ideas coming in, maybe different ways of thinking in terms of innovation, and come out with a product that can be a surprise. The odds are against them, but it could be that for whatever reason it flies.’’

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Toto Wolff at the Zandvoort press conference

Toto Wolff during the press conference in Zandvoort

Additionally, engine manufacturers who fall behind with the new regulations also have a serious advantage, as Wolff explained: ‘’And even if it doesn't, our engine regulations state today that if you're outside of the 2% [mark] to the best power unit, you have more dyno allocation, so you can dig yourself out.

"Obviously that doesn't happen over [a] race or two, and [it] doesn't happen over a season.’’

‘’[It's] certainly a huge, huge challenge that they've given themselves by saying we're doing our own engine, but remember when they took the chassis team over, everybody joked that an energy drink company is trying to compete with Ferrari and Mercedes, and God knows McLaren in Formula 1, and they won at the end. Maybe we'll talk differently in five years.''

Do you want to read more from the interview with Toto Wolff? Check out the stories below. Toto Wolff also discussed the possible collaboration with Max Verstappen, the dismissal of enemy Christian Horner and Wolff laughed about a p*rn movie where his face was visible.