Christian Horner has refuted claims that Red Bull is the primary force advocating for the reintroduction of V10 engines in Formula 1.
Pat Symonds, a seasoned engineering expert now advising the incoming Cadillac team, has suggested that abandoning the planned 2026 regulations could leave his squad without a viable car. "Audi can't do it," he is quoted as saying by France's Auto Hebdo, noting that Sauber's transformation into Audi's full works team in 2026 hinges on a new engine.
"We (Cadillac) designed a car for a 2026 Ferrari engine. We suspect that a 2025 Ferrari engine would not fit in the car," Symonds continued, calling the notion of scrapping the 2026 rules "wishful thinking."
Speculation has pointed to Red Bull as the driver behind a potential shift to V10s with fully sustainable fuel, fuelled by concerns that its Ford-supported Red Bull Powertrains initiative might lag behind competitors.
Team principal Horner dismissed the idea outright. "We now have our own engine department and are running our engines on the test benches," he said. "I think all the teams are fully focused on 2026 at the moment.
"There has been some speculation that we are pushing for a delay, but that is absolutely not the case. We are prepared and ready for 2026. That is our plan."
Horner actually aligns with Symonds' view that the behind-closed-doors talks amount to little more than fantasy. "I would be very surprised," he said when asked about the likelihood of a sudden regulatory reversal. "It's very late in the process. There is a governance structure, there is a process, there are rules in place," Horner concluded.
