Red Bull continues Mercedes raid to bolster new F1 engine division

The strengthening of Red Bull Powertrains leadership team follows last month’s capture of Ben Hodgkinson - a senior member of Mercedes High-Performance Powertrains - who was signed to become Red Bull Powertrains technical director.

Red Bull has subsequently appointed Steve Blewett as PU production director, Omid Mostaghimi as head of powertrains electronics and ERS, Pip Clode as head of technical design ERS, Anton Mayo as head of PU design ICE, and Steve Brodie, who will take over as group leader of ICE operations.

Four of the signings are current employees at Mercedes, while Mayo is a freelancer who has experience at HPP.

Red Bull Powertrains has been created to manage the project of taking on Honda’s power units from 2022 following the Japanese manufacturer's departure from F1 at the end of the season.

It is also set to oversee the production of Red Bull’s inaugural in-house power unit when new engine regulations are introduced in the sport in 2025 at a brand new facility in Milton Keynes.

Red Bull revealed it has also recruited a new head of mechanical development, who will be announced in the coming weeks.

“Red Bull’s mission to bring all aspects of its Formula 1 operations in-house through Red Bull Powertrains is an enormously exciting undertaking but also an extremely demanding one,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

“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.”