Red Bull level F1 2026 engine buzz accusation at Mercedes

Red Bull have accused F1 rivals Mercedes of pedalling the hype surrounding their supposed power unit advantage.

F1 is about to enter one of the most eagerly-anticipated seasons in years, with the introduction of much-changed cars and engines under a regulation cycle that could reset the competitive order.

The winter has been dominated by chatter and speculation about which team has nailed the new rules set, with Mercedes being tipped as early favourites by many inside the F1 paddock.

Mercedes are rumoured to have an engine innovation that could hand them a significant advantage over rival power unit manufacturers, however, Red Bull are skeptical about where the buzz came from.

“I think a lot of that talk originated from Mercedes themselves. My gran used to say, ‘An empty can rattles the loudest’. I think my real opinion, I probably can’t say,” Red Bull Powertrains director Ben Hodgkinson told The Express.

“There’s quite a lot of noise in the press about the fact that it’s believed that Mercedes is going to be the benchmark – a lot of them started by themselves, probably because the driver market is really tough, and they wanted to try to attract people in a car that was currently not performing.

“So, you have to sort of layer it on the political positioning that everyone has to make.

“And then, of course, if you say the rumour enough, it starts being believed as a fact and then people start looking for reasons for it. That’s a bit of a theory as to how it all happened.”

Verstappen unfazed about rumours

Max Verstappen, who is looking to reclaim the world championship this year after narrowly missing out on winning a fifth successive drivers’ title last year to McLaren’s Lando Norris, has been quick to downplay rumours regarding the new-for-2026 power units.

For the first time since joining the F1 grid in 2005, Red Bull are manufacturing their own engine in collaboration with US car giant Ford.

“It's impossible to know,” Verstappen told Bloomberg.

“Everyone is just trying everything they can and from our side, especially from my side, I have to focus on the driving.

“I'm not there to be the engine technician will explain everything in detail to you.

“At the end of the day, it's also something between the FIA and the engine manufacturers to sort out.

“I drive the car, and I trust that from our side, we always try to do our very best to get the most performance out of the engine.”