'Red Bull Ford as engine manufacturer still 90 per cent newcomer in 2026'

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Red Bull Ford would not be granted rookie status by the FIA after Ferrari objected. Motorsport.com contradicts this reporting, however, and claims that Red Bull does get partial newcomer status for 2026.

The regulations state that to determine whether an engine supplier is recognised as a new entrant, the FIA divides the manufacturer into three categories: 40 per cent for infrastructure, 50 per cent for the internal combustion engine and 10 per cent for the electric motor.

Red Bull meets two conditions

Red Bull meets the requirements for infrastructure and combustion engine. The Austrian formation has started building a completely new factory in Milton Keynes with its Powertrains project, and from 2026 the team will drive with power units in which the combustion engine is entirely self-developed. Indeed, Red Bull Powertrains will focus entirely on that, while Ford will be more responsible for the electric part of the engine.

On the third point, the FIA takes into account the engine manufacturer's previous experience with ERS systems in Formula 1 and its possible possession of important recent intellectual property. Red Bull currently assembles battery packs for the existing Honda engine and so the reigning world champion is considered to have some prior knowledge of the technology.

Not all benefits for Red Bull Ford

For this reason, Red Bull Ford will receive only partial newcomer status in Formula 1, according to the aforementioned medium. With this, it will receive 90 per cent of the financial benefits. Because Red Bull would not have been awarded full newcomer status, it is missing out on around €1.5 million that could otherwise have been put extra into development.