Laurent Mekies expresses huge satisfaction with Red Bull's first ever F1 power unit

The 2026 F1 season with its regulation changes marks a significant milestone in the history of Red Bull Racing, who, for the first time, built their own power unit in collaboration with Ford.

And while it is too soon to judge the performance of the first product from Red Bull Ford Powertrains, the DM01, it was obvious that the unit was reliable, as the RB22 ran over 100 laps on Day 1 of the test in Barcelona in the hands of Isack Hadjar.

Racing Bulls, running the same power unit, managed 88 laps on Day 1 with Liam Lawson.

Speaking to F1 TV after the second day of running in Barcelona was concluded, Mekies reflected on the journey that culminated with the RB22 leaving the garage in Barcelona powered by the DM01.

He said: “We knew it would be a very special moment to be here for the first time with the RB22 with our own power unit, so it came with that special atmosphere and tensions.

“The last few months and weeks have been incredibly hectic to be ready, but ultimately we were ready on Monday morning to run.

"I can only take the opportunity to say a big thank you and well done to everybody back in Milton Keynes, chassis-side, power unit-side, because it was incredible to see the car going out at a few minutes past nine on Monday morning with our own power unit.

“We knew we have to do our homework, and we have to do it step by step. Nonetheless, we got quite a few laps yesterday [Monday] with Isack, which was a positive day, starting to learn the power unit, starting to learn the car.”

Compared to established F1 power unit manufacturers like Mercedes and Ferrari, Red Bull have overachieved.

Mekies continued: “I have to say, in terms of what we were expecting from the power unit on these first couple of days, I can only repeat how proud we are from everybody back at base to have managed to give us something that we can actually run with.

"Of course it’s very early days, and of course nothing is perfect," the Frenchman admitted, "but we could run, we could start to learn, work as one team, so that was a huge satisfaction.

"It doesn’t change the size of the journey in front of us, but certainly it’s a first moment that everybody in MK should be proud of," he concluded.