Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Red Bull-Ford has been judged by the FIA to have the strongest combustion engine at the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season, a striking verdict for a power-unit program making its debut under the new regulations and one that now comes with an immediate cost under the sport’s development rules.
The assessment was made through the ADUO system, the framework that measures performance and governs which manufacturers are allowed extra development opportunities. In Red Bull’s case, being rated the benchmark means the team is not eligible to introduce a power-unit upgrade during the 2026 season. That leaves rivals with a potential route back into the fight if they can use their own update scope to reduce the advantage over the months ahead.
That trade-off is what makes the ruling so significant in racing terms. Red Bull has not simply started its first year as an engine manufacturer on competitive footing. It has started at the front, ahead of established names that have spent decades building power units in Formula 1. But by doing so, it has also given away flexibility in a season that is only just beginning.
The result is especially notable because 2026 is the first year Red Bull has raced in Formula 1 with its own power unit, developed in partnership with Ford. For a new operation to be rated best at the outset of a rules cycle was not the expected outcome, particularly against Ferrari, Honda, Audi and Mercedes.
Christian Horner, former Red Bull team principal, said the scale of the achievement was clear even inside the project. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he said: "Do you know what, seeing that engine... five years ago the factory used to make bubble wrap. To be judged the best engine in F1 as a startup, I think those guys have done incredibly well."
Horner said the FIA evaluation had placed Red Bull’s unit ahead of every major rival manufacturer. "To have an engine ahead of Ferrari, ahead of Honda, ahead of Audi, ahead of even Mercedes, nobody thought that was possible," he said.
He also pointed to the breadth of the effort behind the early result, crediting the technical and commercial partners attached to the project. In the same interview, Horner gave "a big shout out" to Exxon Mobil for the fuel it provided and to Ford Motor Company, adding that "it was a collective effort."
That collective effort has turned Red Bull’s engine division from an unproven newcomer into the FIA’s early reference point under the 2026 rules. The bigger question now is whether that first verdict will still matter by the end of the season, when Red Bull’s inability to upgrade could give Ferrari, Honda, Audi or Mercedes the opening they need to close in.