Karun Chandhok says RBPT have already matched Mercedes engine despite starting from a ‘cabin’

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Karun Chandhok has praised Red Bull’s engine division, highlighting the impressive efforts of engineers to build a power unit that is ‘on par’ with Mercedes despite starting from a ‘porter cabin’.

Despite fielding Honda engines with the Red Bull Powertrains brand in recent years, the 2026 F1 season marks the first year that the Milton Keynes-based manufacturer has built their own engines entirely from scratch.

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Much of the pre-season discussion focused on whether the current campaign would be a write-off from the outset, given the mammoth task of building an engine from scratch under a brand-new set of regulations.

However, data from the first few rounds suggest that Red Bull has nailed the engine but is still struggling with chassis issues.

• READ MORE: ‘Everyone’ in Max Verstappen’s entourage saw his ‘eagerness to race’ return at the Miami Grand Prix

Karun Chandhok praises RBPT for building an F1 engine ‘on par with Mercedes’

During a post-Miami Grand Prix episode of The F1 Show, pundit Karun Chandhok touched upon a private chat he had inside the paddock with Max Verstappen, while also praising Milton Keynes’ efforts in their engine division.

The four-time world champion was in a much better mood inside the Red Bull garages this weekend. Following his clinching of a front row start for the Grand Prix, Verstappen quipped he now sees ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ after a tough start to the season.

“Max was in a great mood, he popped by the Sky pad, and we had a bit of a chat off camera,” Chandhok revealed. “He felt this was the first weekend where the car was working the way that he liked and he wanted to.”

The former F1 driver then pointed towards RBPT as a leading factor in Verstappen’s happiness, adding, “I think we have to say massive hats off to Red Bull Powertrains. I think they’ve gone under the radar, together with Ford and what they’ve done.

“But as a brand new engine manufacturer, you just have to look at the problems that their previous partners, Honda, are having. They’ve rocked up, and, in some people’s estimation, they are the benchmark, right on par with Mercedes.

“For a company that worked out of a campsite or a porter cabin, I think it was about five, six years ago, it’s incredible. They built a company and a class-leading engine in five years’ time.”

• READ MORE: Aston Martin have now adopted a ‘mouth shut’ policy on Honda engine problems

Karun Chandhok also outlined where Laurent Mekies sees Red Bull’s deficit to Mercedes

Red Bull’s main focus with their Miami GP upgrades was shedding weight off the RB22. Verstappen claims they halved the excess weight with the new parts, and team principal Laurent Mekies also outlined to Chandhok a few more areas that needed attention.

“We spoke to Laurent Mekies, and he explained that there are five key areas where they believe that they are behind Mercedes in terms of their development,” the former HRT and Lotus driver said.

“He thinks they sorted a steering issue, in terms of the feel the drivers were getting; they got on top of that. They made the car more consistent to drive.

“He said the envelope of performance was quite narrow; they’ve widened that so the drivers have a more consistent balance all across the track and especially in windier conditions, but he wouldn’t tell us what the third thing was that they fixed.

“He said, ‘I’m going to keep that to myself’. But there are still two more areas where they’ve identified they need to improve the car.”