Red Bull Powertrains has confirmed further details of its senior leadership team, all five new recruits formerly with Mercedes.

Tasked with developing competitive power units for Red Bull and sister team AlphaTauri from 2022 onwards, and charged with the creation of a new power unit to be developed to F1 regulations currently scheduled for implementation in 2025, Red Bull Powertrains has embarked on a recruitment programme aimed at building an expert technical team capable of taking its power unit operation to race and championship-winning success.

Following the recent announcement of Ben Hodgkinson as Technical Director, Red Bull Powertrains has further enhanced its technical capabilities through significant appointments in key areas that will see power unit development fully integrated with chassis design at the Red Bull Technology Campus in Milton Keynes.

The senior leadership appointments include:

PU Production Director - Steve Blewett, formerly Head of Manufacturing at Mercedes Benz HPE, whom he joined in late 2010 from Williams.

Head of Powertrains Electronics and ERS - Omid Mostaghimi, formerly F1 Electronics Team Leader at Mercedes AMG HPP, having joined Mercedes straight from Universtiy in late 2012.

Head of Mechanical Design ERS - Pip Clode, formerly Team Leader - F1 Power Unit Concept at Mercedes AMG HPP, having been at Brixworth since late 2005.

Head of PU Design ICE - Anton Mayo, formerly engineer at Mercedes AMG HPP, who joined the company from Advance Engine Research in Basildon in late 2015.

Group Leader ICE Operations - Steve Brodie, formerly F1 trackside and final inspection manager at Mercedes AMG HPP.

The company also welcomes a new Head of Mechanical Development, whose name will be announced in the coming weeks.

"Red Bull's mission to bring all aspects of its Formula One operations in-house through Red Bull Powertrains is an enormously exciting undertaking but also an extremely demanding one," said Christian Horner, "and we know that success will only be achieved by bringing in the best and brightest talent, by providing them with the right tools and by creating the right environment in which they can thrive.

"Today's key leadership team appointments demonstrate our strong commitment to those goals and we certainly benefit from our campus being located in the UK where we have access to a huge wealth of engineering talent.

"Working with our new Technical Director, Ben Hodgkinson, and alongside key personnel retained from Honda Racing Development, each of the senior personnel announced today bring a wealth of experience, expertise and innovativity to the Red Bull Powertrains programme and provide us with the strongest possible technical platform for the future."

Asked in Portugal if he was concerned at others following Ben Hodgkinson's example and deserting Mercedes for Red Bull, Toto Wolff said: "I guess it was expected that this would happen and this is just a battleground such as the one on track. You need to acknowledge that and the last few weeks were certainly very much..."

"Busy!" interrupted Christian Horner.

"Pulling on...," continued Wolff. "How do you call that? Pulling on both sides of the rope, which I enjoyed. It's part of the competition. You need to take it as a sportsman. Sportsmanship."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Spindoctor, 07/05/2021 8:06

"Can RBR can actually afford to invest & spend what's required without outside assistance? Perhaps VAG will partner with RBR to try & give Mercedes a bloody nose, but Formula 1 is a risky business, as many failed participants can tell you.

By 2030 most developed nations will be saying farewell to the good old Infernal Combustion engine & hello to cleaner alternatives. The (notional) "relevance" current F1 Power Units will disappear long before that date.
If I were a planner at Mercedes, I'd seriously be considering the potential PR & sales gains (not to mention cost-savings) of pulling-out of "dirty" Formula 1.
Wouldn't it be interesting if RBR were to spend a fortune developing a PU, only for Mercedes to take their ball away & (as it were) pull the plug...."

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2. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 07/05/2021 8:01

" Rock Doc, could be there is more to this exodus than we know at this time."

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3. Posted by Piston Broke, 07/05/2021 7:16

"@Bill Hopgood- I think you may see an alliance between McLaren and Red Bull re engines, but probably in 2025 with Porsche #Justsaying. "

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4. Posted by BillH, 06/05/2021 19:12

"I wonder what the Mercedes High Performance customers are thinking?

Could we ironically see McLaren one day ending up with a Red Bull PU?

Stranger things have happened..."

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5. Posted by Rock Doc, 06/05/2021 13:43

"I was thinking this looks more like rats leaving the sinking ship. Is this a sign that Mercedes will be shutting up shop soon?"

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6. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 06/05/2021 12:46

"Everyone has a price and Red Bull have the money, but such a mass exodus must give Mercedes cause for concern. "

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7. Posted by kenji, 06/05/2021 10:52

"Despite Mercedes putting a brave face on it...this will hurt for quite a while. So many key men going at once will somewhat disrupt the smooth flow of development. "

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