Christian Horner's legacy

Christian Horner might not have his name above the door at Red Bull anymore, but his legacy remains as a founding figure of its Red Bull Powertrains division which celebrated its first F1 win at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

Sepang 2026 rain delay

Max Verstappen's victory at Sepang was an historic one. Twenty years from now, when a new generation of Formula 1 fans flicks through the history books, they may well wonder what a bizarre season 2026 must have been for the Bahrain Grand Prix to be hit by so much rain that the start had to be delayed.

Ford engine last win

It has been a very long time since a Ford engine last won an F1 race. In April 2003, Giancarlo Fisichella won the Brazilian GP in a Jordan powered by a Ford-Cosworth RS1 V10.

Fisichella's race outcome

Fisichella was leading when the red flags came out at Interlagos - but initially it was McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen who was declared the winner.

FIA timing rules

The FIA Sporting Regulations at the time stipulated that, provided more than 75% of the race distance had been completed, the race would be 'deemed to have finished when the leading car crossed the line at the end of the lap two laps prior to that lap during which the signal to stop was given'.

Fisichella wins after appeal

The official timing screens initially showed Fisichella beginning lap 56. Then, briefly, that information disappeared, with the system instead showing him as still being on lap 55. Fisichella is awarded the winner's trophy alongside Jordan after an appeal.

Red Bull Powertrains origin

How Red Bull Powertrains came to be: Back in March 2023, Helmut Marko himself explained it like this: 'Even if the team may be called Red Bull Ford or Ford Red Bull, the engine will come solely from Red Bull Powertrains. Ford will be involved in battery technology'.

“Even if the team may be called Red Bull Ford or Ford Red Bull, the engine will come solely from Red Bull Powertrains. Ford will be involved in battery technology”

Red Bull's engine history

Red Bull and F1 engines have always had a complicated relationship. In 2013, Red Bull was still winning world championships with Renault power. Then the French manufacturer scaled back its works involvement, and the team continued with the arrangement of running Renault engines rebadged as TAG Heuer.

Red Bull switches to Honda

So Red Bull went out and found Honda. First for its 'little' team, Toro Rosso, and from 2019 for Red Bull Racing as well. By the time Verstappen became world champion in that unforgettable Abu Dhabi finale in 2021, Honda had already announced that it would withdraw from F1 as a works operation.

Red Bull's engine problem

So by the end of the 2020 season, Red Bull had a fairly serious problem to solve for life beyond 2021, as it was staring at a future without an engine supplier.

Red Bull builds own engine

At some point, someone must have had the idea that, after years of depending on Renault and Honda, perhaps Red Bull should simply take matters into its own hands.

Mateschitz's vision

Legend has it that Dietrich Mateschitz had always been irritated by the way F1's established car manufacturers looked down on Red Bull as little more than an 'energy-drink company'. There was something undeniably appealing about the audacity of proving them wrong: having built the best chassis in F1, why not build the best engine as well - right in the heartland of Mercedes and the traditional automotive giants?

Red Bull-Porsche talks

At Red Bull's home grand prix in Austria in July 2021, Marko happened to bump into Fritz Enzinger, Porsche's motorsport boss at the time. They got talking about what Red Bull planned to do in the wake of Honda's impending withdrawal. Enzinger let slip that Porsche might be rather interested in entering F1 itself.

Red Bull-Porsche joint venture

By November 2021, everything pointed towards a Red Bull-Porsche joint venture. Mateschitz, Marko, Enzinger and Porsche CEO Oliver Blume met at Hangar-7. The atmosphere was relaxed, everyone seemed to be on the same wavelength, and the occasion was toasted with Zirbenschnaps, an Austrian pine schnapps.

Red Bull-Porsche dream dies

The Red Bull-Porsche dream died. But Horner had not done things by halves. Red Bull Powertrains had already been founded. The purpose-built technology campus in Milton Keynes was well under construction and engineers had been recruited from rival manufacturers.

Red Bull's engine success

Four years later, we know the answer. Red Bull did not overreach. And on Sunday, Horner will surely have watched events at Sepang with mixed emotions as the project that forms part of his legacy delivered a first F1 victory for a Red Bull Powertrains engine of its own making.

Horner's legacy

Horner won't be able to claim Verstappen's win in Sepang as part of his record, but it is a result of his legacy. Today, Red Bull has the most powerful internal combustion engine in F1. Thanks to the FIA's ADUO classification, that is something that can be demonstrated objectively.