Red Bull's Mekies supports F1's return to V8 engines, teases potential Ford advantage
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
Updated: 21:44, 07 May
6 Comments
Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has thrown his support behind the idea of F1 returning to V8 engines, citing a potential advantage given the Milton Keynes-based team's partnership with American manufacturer Ford.
Despite the F1 2026 regulation tweaks introduced in Miami, the possibility of a switch back to V8 engines - last used in F1 in 2013 - was raised by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who claimed the "V8 is coming," potentially as early as 2030, even without the support of F1's engine manufacturers.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was on board with the idea, telling media, including GPblog at Miami, to "count us in to come back with a real, real racing engine," although the Silver Arrows' team principal did warn that such a move risks "losing connection to the real world" without the presence of electrical power.
Rival team principal Mekies has said Red Bull Ford Powertrains are "pretty cool" with the prospect of future engine changes, despite only debuting their first-ever power unit for the 2026 season, even suggesting that a switch to V8s could play into their hands given Ford's well-known history with the engine.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mekies teases Red Bull-Ford connection to V8 engines
Photo: Race Pictures
When asked on where Red Bull stood on the prospect of both power unit changes in the shorter term, either 2027 or 2028, and Sulayem's recent comments on V8s' return, Mekies said to media, including GPblog: “As Red Bull Powertrains, we are pretty cool with it.
“We feel we had to start from zero to go and try to deal with this power unit. And I think the starting point is decent. We are still lacking some PU performance compared to Mercedes, but we feel that the guys did a phenomenal job to put us in a fight. So we are quite excited to have another challenge."
Although Red Bull-Ford ought to have a disadvantage to vastly more experienced engine manufacturers, such as Mercedes or Ferrari, Mekies believes they can be "more flexible and independent." He continued: "You are right in saying that we don't have some background history, but we are quite excited but we are quite excited about going about a new challenge.”
ADVERTISEMENT
And when the iconic connection between the American giant and the V8 engine was raised with Mekies, the Red Bull boss jokingly teased "an early start" for the Red Bull team.
“Indeed, there is a V8 in the Ford Mustang that I’m lucky to drive every day in Milton Keynes. So, we may have an early start.”
Read more about:
latest news
Canadian Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 22.05.26
Practice 1
04:30 PM
Sprint Qualification
08:30 PM
Saturday 23.05.26
Sprint Race
04:00 PM
Qualification
08:00 PM
Sunday 24.05.26
Race
08:00 PM
Friday 22.05.26
Practice 1
Fri 04:30 PM
Sprint Qualification
Fri 08:30 PM
Saturday 23.05.26
Sprint Race
Sat 04:00 PM
Qualification
Sat 08:00 PM
Sunday 24.05.26
Race
Sun 08:00 PM
Times are in your local timezone
Rumors
Popular on GPBlog
1
Why Mercedes and McLaren are no longer 'worried' about Ferrari’s title threat
1012 times read
2
F1 LIVE | FIA confirms key 2027 engine tweaks with updated ADUO structure
653 times read
3
MotoGP French Grand Prix Qualifying Results: Bagnaia takes pole ahead of Marquez and Bezzecchi
614 times read
4
MotoGP French GP Sprint Results: Jorge Martin dominates as Marquez suffers high side
376 times read
F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 100 | |
2 | MercedesMER | 80 | |
3 | FerrariFER | 63 | |
4 | McLarenMCL | 51 | |
5 | FerrariFER | 49 | |
6 | McLarenMCL | 43 | |
7 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 26 | |
8 | HaasHAA | 17 | |
9 | AlpineALP | 16 | |
10 | Racing BullsRCB | 10 |
Loading
