Laurent Mekies says Red Bull face ‘painful’ engine development issue ahead of the Australian GP

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Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies has warned that, despite their new power unit’s impressive debut outing during testing in Bahrain, it could be a ‘painful’ process competing with the leading engines on the grid.

Laurent Mekies has been very positive about Red Bull’s start to the 2026 campaign.

Although new driver Isack Hadjar had some reliability issues in Bahrain, Max Verstappen quickly looked up to speed and was competitive against the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.

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Verstappen was showing the other drivers battery charging techniques during testing that will be crucial to being competitive this season.

That relies on Red Bull Powertrains’ first engine and the connected gearbox being durable enough to deal with the high-revs when dropping down to first gear during corners that would have been taken in third gear last season.

Although the initial signs are overwhelmingly positive, Mekies has warned that Red Bull still have a long way to go before they can be considered favourites.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull team principal and CEO Laurent Mekies

Laurent Mekies admits ‘outstanding’ start for Red Bull Powertrains could be undone by ‘painful’ development cycle

Mekies was being interviewed by TSN ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, and asked about the DM01, Red Bull’s name for their first power unit. He said: “It’s historical what the team has done, what the power unit team has done.

“Starting from zero three years ago, getting there, seeing that reality of the chassis and power unit teams working together around the car and seeing that car going out was a huge achievement. It’s the sort of thing that only Red Bull can do.

“We have done it with incredible partners, Ford, Exxon, Oracle. I think they should all be proud now back in Milton Keynes, and the next second you forget that and you look at all the steps that you need to go to be at the right level, and we know the road is long.

“We know it’s going to be painful, but it’s fair to say the starting point was outstanding.”

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Asked to expand on why he thinks it will be ‘painful’, Mekies continued: “We are extremely conscious of the amount of work that is still ahead of us in terms of getting the PU to work in the way we need it to work, getting the car to work with the PU in the way it needs to work together and to then bring that package at the level of our competition who are performing at incredible level.

“This, we think, is going to be painful. There will be moments where we will be looking at the classification, and it will feel like it’s a huge gap to P1.

“There will be moments where the car will stop on the track. But we know the scale of the challenge. We know how crazy of an incredible decision it is to go into those adventures with our own PU, and it’s a sort of challenge that we love as Red Bull, and we embrace.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

How does Red Bull’s first Formula 1 power unit stack up against its rivals?

The initial signs in testing suggest that a pecking order has already been established between the five power unit suppliers.

Aston Martin’s Honda engine is a long way back compared to its rivals, with concerns that both drivers might not even finish the race in Australia.

The most laps either Aston Martin driver completed in Bahrain without stopping was 13, putting them on the back foot with little sign that they’ll make a quick recovery.

Audi are making positive noises about their first F1 power unit, and Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto’s long-run pace in Bahrain was impressive.

Red Bull might be slightly behind Ferrari and Mercedes, who are vying to be the strongest engine manufacturer.

Ferrari have gone with a smaller turbo to try and aid them off the line, while Mercedes’ engine has passed FIA checks after concerns about their compression ratio heading into the season.