Red Bull chief Helmut Marko makes proclamation that could set alarm bells ringing for Ferrari and Audi

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko recently declared that his team is ahead of Audi and Ferrari when it comes to developing the 2026 F1 power unit. The Austrian-British team will be manufacturing their very first F1 engine in 2026 with the help of Ford.

In 2026, the sport will go through massive technical changes as new power units will be introduced by every works team. Although Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff feels Red Bull is technologically behind other teams simply because they did not agree with some regulations about the power unit, Helmut Marko has debunked these claims.

In an exclusive interview with Motorsport-Total.com, Marko pointed out that his team has some of the top personnel who have been hired from various other teams and that Ford is on their side as well.

“I don’t think we are technically behind," he said. "We have brought in people from Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, and Cosworth [for the engine department]. We have Ford as a partner in the sector. We have absolute top people on the combustion engine. And we have two very bright minds on the electric side.”

Furthermore, Marko added that Red Bull will run a complete combustion engine with MGU-K and a battery in the month of August. He claimed that the Austrian-British team is miles ahead of teams like Audi and Ferrari. However, he admitted that Mercedes could be close to them.

“In August, we are running a complete combustion engine with MGU-K and battery," he said. "There, we are miles ahead of Audi; we are miles ahead of Ferrari; and Mercedes is about the same.”

---

Christian Horner on Red Bull's unbeatable streak till the 2023 F1 season's summer break

Red Bull was unbeatable in the first half of the 2023 F1 season. Max Verstappen won most of the races for his team, while Sergio Perez also picked up a few wins himself.

Reflecting on their astonishing dominance, team principal Christian Horner recently spoke about the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. He said (via Motorsport.com):

"It's about every member of the team, every department in the factory doing their job, you don't achieve these kinds of results by accident. It's phenomenal to go into the summer break unbeaten in both GPs and sprints. It's beyond everybody's wildest imagination to be in sitting in this position now."

Red Bull is currently cruising at the top of the constructors' championship table with 503 points. Mercedes is way behind in second place with 247 points.