Toto Wolff believes Red Bull’s plans to build their own F1 engine are ‘very bold’

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Red Bull pushing on with producing their own F1 engine is a “very bold strategy” after talks with Porsche collapsed.

The 2022 Constructors’ leaders are pushing on with their own Red Bull Powertrains division, with team principal Christian Horner detailing that more than 300 people are already working on the project.

The target is to produce their own engine for new regulations in 2026, though Red Bull are open to a future partnership with a third party - in a similar manner to their past agreement with Honda and a collaboration with the Japanese company could be agreed further down the line.

Audi announcced they would be entering Formula 1 as a power unit supplier in 2026 but they are expected to join forces with Alfa Romeo.

Either way, Wolff gave his thoughts on Red Bull’s plans and says he thinks it’s a “shame” that Mercedes could not compete against another fellow Stuttgart manufacturer in Porsche.

“I think it’s [Red Bull Powertrains] a very bold strategy,” Wolff said. “Being self-sufficient is clearly a scenario that Red Bull have always wanted to achieve, have their own power unit, not be dependent of any other OEM.

“And here we go. That’s the strategy they have deployed. And we shall see what happens in ‘26/’27/’28. Clearly, this is setting a direction, and I’m not involved in the detail whether Porsche joins in badging the engine or if Honda is going to badge the engine.

“It’s a shame obviously, from me as a Mercedes person, it’s a shame that we can’t fight with Porsche. Porsche/Red Bull would have been a mega entry. A great brand. And that didn’t work out for reasons that are unknown to me. It would have been really great for F1 and all of us overall if they would have joined forces for the attractiveness of the sport.”

“Every large corporation, especially auto companies, not only auto companies, because Red Bull is also pretty good at that, that not only buys a racing team and invest large amounts of money into running it, but also invests even more into activation is beneficial for F1.

“And if a brand like Porsche that is known all over the world, puts their marketing dollars into activating F1, we will all be benefiting, and I think this is the important part.”