McLaren considering shock F1 tie-up with Red Bull after Brown factory visit

McLaren CEO Zak Brown visited Red Bull’s Milton Keynes factory earlier this month to hold exploratory talks with the reigning world champions, according to a report by The Independent. 

Red Bull are currently powered by Honda but are creating their own engine division - Red Bull Powertrains - to supply the senior team and sister outfit AlphaTauri from 2026. American car giant Ford will partner Red Bull in the project. 

McLaren’s engines are supplied by Mercedes and their current deal is set to run until the end of 2025. 

The Woking squad are contemplating their options from 2026 onwards and are understood to have also made initial contact with Honda over a possible F1 reunion. 

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“We’re very happy with Mercedes,” Brown said at McLaren’s launch of their 2023 F1 car. 

“We have some time to decide what we want to do in 2026 and beyond, I think it’s exciting for Formula 1 to have this many manufacturers coming into the sport.

“I think it shows the growth and excitement for the sport. It’s certainly something Andrea [Stella] and I are in the process of slowly reviewing; we’re not in a big rush and we are very happy with Mercedes, so we’ll see how things play out in the next year or so before we make a decision.”

An alliance between McLaren and Red Bull would come as a surprise given Brown’s seemingly tense relationship with opposite number Christian Horrner. 

The pair clashed in a heated press conference at last year’s United States Grand Prix after Brown wrote a letter to the FIA in which he said Red Bull breaking the F1 cost cap “constitutes cheating”.