Red Bull ‘not naive’ as Mekies warns of ‘first few months’ struggles

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has warned that headaches, sleepless nights, and struggles lie ahead as the Milton Keynes team races its first in-house power unit in F1 2026.

However, the Frenchman is confident that Red Bull will “eventually come out on top”.

Red Bull team boss: Bear with us in the first few months

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The 2026 Formula 1 season heralds the biggest technical shake-up in the sport’s history, with all-new cars and engine regulations in play.

The cars will feature active aerodynamics for the first time, while the engines will run on a 50/50 split between electrical energy and combustion.

For Red Bull, however, the challenge is even greater as the RB22 will be powered by the team’s first in-house engine, designed by Red Bull Powertrains with technical input from Ford.

The American manufacturer returns to Formula 1 for the first time since 2004.

Red Bull has unveiled the RB22's livery…#F1 pic.twitter.com/ROpLllDKLt

— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) January 16, 2026

“It’s a historical moment for all of us,” said Mekies. “We are entering a historical moment for Formula 1. It’s going to be the biggest change of regulations in Formula 1 history.

“It’s a crazy challenge. Perhaps it’s a challenge that only a company like Red Bull and Ford can decide to do, but that’s what we are here for.

“In describing the size of the challenge and starting from scratch and building everything up, I think going into the first year and going to the first race soon and thinking [we will] be straight away at the level of the competitors who have been doing it for perhaps 90 years would be naive.

“We are not naive.

“I think it’s going to be coming with a fair amount of struggle, a fair amount of headaches and sleepless nights, but that is exactly what we are here for.

“You work all your life to be associated with a challenge of that magnitude. That’s what all of us passionate about the sport would like to be involved in, and that’s what we have.

“We have an unreal challenge, and we have the privilege to be associated with it, to be involved in it.

“Yes, it comes with a few headaches, it comes with a few sleepless nights, but fundamentally that’s what fuels us. We will go through the struggle and eventually come out on top.

“Bear with us in the first few months, and I think these initial difficulties will be good reminders of how much we went through to eventually get on top.”

Red Bull Powertrains’ first engine has been named the DM01 after Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died in 2022.

“It’s his vision, his boldness, really the Red Bull spirit that is the reason why we are all here today,” Mekies said. “He made that unbelievable decision at the time to put us onto the route of being completely independent with both the chassis and the power unit.

“He was not scared by the challenge. Today we have our opportunity to pay tribute and hopefully to make him proud.”

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