Mekies reveals widespread interest in Red Bull engine amid Aston Martin rumours

Laurent Mekies reveals 'attention from F1 teams' in Red Bull-Ford Powertrains power unit amid Aston Martin rumours The Red Bull-Ford Powertrains power unit has been very competitive in 2026, so could they supply more teams in the future, including Aston Martin? Watch every session of the Mexico City GP from this Friday, live on Sky Sports F1 Wednesday 28 October 2026 05:58, UK Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has admitted there has been attention from "a lot of teams" about his outfit's power unit performance. Earlier this year, the FIA deemed Red Bull to have the strongest engine, a contentious decision given Mercedes were granted an upgrade as they were more than two per cent behind Red Bull's internal combustion engine performance. This year is the first season Red Bull, in collaboration with Ford, have built their own power unit which very few people expected to be competitive in 2026. - How Antonelli can win world title at Mexico City GP on Sunday - Mexico City GP Schedule | F1 2026 standings | F1 2026 calendar - Got the Sky Sports app? Sign up for latest F1 alerts - Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream F1 with no contract 📺 It is a contrast to the lack of performance in Aston Martin's Honda power unit which has left Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll mostly fighting towards the rear of the grid. There have been rumours that Aston Martin were looking into their future with Honda and even the possibility of taking a Red Bull-Ford power unit. "We got a lot of unwanted positive publicity about the performance of our engine, and that came with certainly attentions from a lot of teams," said Mekies. "Are we having any serious conversations with anyone to supply another team? No, we don't think we are ready for that. Is it set in stone for the next five years? No, because I don't know what's going to happen in the next five years. "We still have plenty of work to do to improve the power unit, refine its integration into the car and reach the level of the top competitors. Only then can we consider supplying another team alongside Racing Bulls. Nothing will change over the next year or so." Mekies says the Red Bull-Ford Powertrains programme have done a "phenomenal job" after launching from "zero" in 2021 to build a competitive power unit in their first F1 season. "People realise it's a very good engine. However, we have our feet on the ground. We think it's better to concentrate on Red Bull and Racing Bulls," he told Sky Sports F1. "We are, at the moment, you may see the cars on track running smoothly but the reality is it's days and nights, very hard work for everyone back at Milton Keynes to keep the teams in a reasonable condition to run. "It's still the first year with all these challenges, so in the near future we will concentrate on these two teams." Newey: A lot of promise in new Honda projects Aston Martin have scored just seven points this season and are 10th in the Constructors' Championship, although Fernando Alonso says the team were on course for their best race yet on Sunday in Austin, if not for contact with Williams' Alex Albon. Team principal Adrian Newey says Honda's deficit is "fairly clear" but is encouraged by new developments by the Japanese engine manufacturer. "Honda - there's a lot of energy and projects on the way now that perhaps are in their early stages of development, but we see a lot of promise from those," he said. "Too early to comment on exactly where the PU will be at the start of the season and whether then, assuming it's allowed under the PUAC [Power Unit Advisory Committee], there will be further development for what will be race eight at the end of the first period." Honda's struggles are reminiscent of their turbo-hybrid partnership with McLaren between 2015 and 2017 - a period where they never had a competitive engine. McLaren and Honda parted ways at the end of 2017, with Honda supplying Toro Rosso, now called Racing Bulls, from 2018 and Red Bull from 2019. In their first season with Red Bull, Honda scored a podium in the season-opener and Max Verstappen won three races. Newey said: "At the moment, in all truth, Honda are a little bit behind where Red Bull, as the works team, Red Bull, picked up Honda in 2019. But that obviously was four seasons after they first came back in 2015. So, this is the first year back in. "They are a great company. I have every confidence that they will accelerate quickly and understand the problems of these particular PU regulations." Formula 1 next heads south for the second leg of The Americas triple header with the Mexico City Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime