Wolff acknowledges Red Bull's 'good job' on 2026 engine after Mercedes staff exodus
Toto Wolff has praised Red Bull's new in-house engine for a reliable debut in testing, a notable admission given hundreds of staff were poached from Mercedes to build it. He cautioned, however, that true performance comparisons will only come when the 'stopwatch' starts in Bahrain.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has conceded that the rival Red Bull Powertrains operation has done a "good job" with its first in-house engine, following a seemingly strong and reliable debut in the recent Barcelona shakedown. This comes after years of Red Bull recruiting over 200 staff from Mercedes' High Performance Powertrains division to build its new Ford-backed engine unit from scratch.
Why it matters:
Red Bull's successful transition to a full works team—designing both its chassis and power unit—was a monumental task. For Wolff to publicly acknowledge their early reliability is a significant nod to the scale of that achievement, especially given the contentious history of staff movement between the two rival operations. It sets an intriguing stage for 2026, where engine performance could be the ultimate differentiator.
The details:
- The comments follow a closed, five-day private test in Barcelona where all 2026 cars (except Williams) ran for the first time. Early reports indicated surprisingly strong reliability across most new power units.
- Wolff expressed satisfaction with Mercedes' own test, highlighting good interaction between the power unit and chassis, but urged extreme caution in drawing performance conclusions. He noted that not all teams were pushing for outright lap time and key rivals like Max Verstappen were not in the cars.
- Staff Exodus Context: Red Bull team boss Christian Horner revealed in 2024 that the new Red Bull Powertrains division had signed "over 200 people" from Mercedes HPP. Wolff's praise is an acknowledgment that this transferred knowledge has been effectively applied.
- Proof in the Running: Wolff specifically pointed out that Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar completed 107 laps on the first day of the test without major issues, calling it a reliable run that deserves credit.
What's next:
The real assessment begins now. The first official pre-season test in Bahrain from February 11-13 will provide a more transparent and competitive benchmark.
- All manufacturers will begin to show their hands in terms of pure performance, moving beyond basic reliability checks.
- Wolff's final line—"we will see when the stopwatch actually comes out"—captures the waiting game. Praise for a solid shakedown is one thing, but the true hierarchy will only be established under the pressure of qualifying and race conditions later this year.