Shock reports emerge of Zak Brown approaching Red Bull about a possible engine tie-up

McLaren CEO Zak Brown reportedly approached Red Bull for a possible engine deal for the 2026 F1 season. The Woking-based team currently races in collaboration with Mercedes.

Four teams on the current F1 grid use Mercedes engines, including themselves and McLaren. However, it was reported earlier that Alpine, which is currently the only team on the grid to use Renault engines, might strike a deal with Mercedes. This might be an issue for other teams who run their engines, as Mercedes might face instability issues with newer teams.

Mercedes will lose Aston Martin in the 2026 season with the new engine regulations. The latter will be supplied by Honda. However, a lot of the attention will be on Red Bull, who will be producing their own power units for the first time (in partnership with Ford).

Amid all this, McLaren's Zak Brown confirmed his visit to RBR's factory. He further revealed that he had visited the factory prior to extending their contract with Mercedes.

"I have a great relationship with Jim Farley (Ford CEO). We met last year and then visited the factory. That was before we decided to extend our contract with Mercedes," AMuS quoted Brown.

Reports from the German publication Auto Motor und Sport hint towards a possible connection between RBR and McLaren in the near future.

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Can Red Bull develop a dominant engine for 2026?

According to the 2026 F1 regulations, a large part of the car's performance will be extracted from the engine, getting most from the MGU-K with a power output of 350 kW, or roughly 469 hp. This leaves the teams powered by other engine suppliers with quite a decision on their hands.

Red Bull has been leading the grid in multiple ways, and partnering with Ford might help them to create a dominant engine.

The engine regulations will bid farewell to the MGU-H, and the new engines will be focused on producing the maximum electric power, as mentioned earlier. This will see the drivers using battery tactics to save up most for attacking or defending during the races. Developing an efficient and reliable engine will remain the priority.

Red Bull is not behind on facilities and the structured use of their resources. Earlier in April, team principal Christian Horner stated that the 2026 engine was "hitting the targets."

"We are hitting the targets that we're setting ourselves,” he said. “Now, how those targets stack up to our competitors is always difficult to know. But the effort that's going in behind the scenes is huge, because it is literally a race against the clock to the start of 2026," Autosport quoted Horner.

Developing a powerful and dominant engine can help teams climb to the top of the grid or expand their dominance. All the teams are thus majorly focused on the R&D for the 2026 F1 season.