Red Bull F1 2026: Results and Ford Engine, Measured
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Red Bull's 2026 season, measured: its own engine, no wins yet, and the best reliability record of any manufacturer
Red Bull build their own power unit for the first time in 2026, with Ford. Fourteen races in they have no wins and are fourth on 230 points, but cars with that engine have the lowest non-finish rate of the five manufacturers. The season race by race, with three drivers.
For the first time, Red Bull build their own Formula 1 engine. They did it with Ford, for the new 2026 rules, and after fourteen races the cars carrying it have failed to finish less often than those of any other manufacturer.
Red Bull and Racing Bulls cars with the Red Bull Ford power unit have failed to finish 8 of 56 entries, 14%, the best rate of the five engine makers. Toto Wolff has said Red Bull has the best combustion engine of all by the FIA's own measure. What the team does not have is a win: Max Verstappen has six podiums and no victories, and the team is fourth in the constructors' championship on 230 points.
It has also needed three drivers. Isack Hadjar broke his wrist over the summer break, and Liam Lawson has driven his car since. Every message from Monaco, where both Red Bulls had power problems on the same afternoon, is in our Monaco Grand Prix 2026 race radio archive.
Every race of their 2026 season
The first seven rounds:
Round
Grand Prix
Verstappen
Second car
1
Australian
6th
Hadjar, retired
2
Chinese
Retired
Hadjar, 8th
3
Japanese
8th
Hadjar, 12th
4
Miami
5th
Hadjar, retired
5
Canadian
3rd
Hadjar, 5th
6
Monaco
Retired
Hadjar, 3rd
7
Barcelona
4th
Hadjar, 6th
Finishing positions in each Grand Prix.
The next seven:
Round
Grand Prix
Verstappen
Second car
8
Austrian
2nd
Hadjar, 6th
9
British
Retired
Hadjar, 5th
10
Belgian
3rd
Hadjar, 6th
11
Hungarian
2nd
Hadjar, 6th
12
Dutch
Retired
Lawson, 7th
13
Italian
3rd
Lawson, 14th
14
Spanish (Madrid)
2nd
Lawson, 6th
Lawson replaced the injured Hadjar from Zandvoort onward.
The season in numbers
0 wins, and 7 podiums: six for Verstappen, one for Hadjar at Monaco.
0 poles. Every pole of 2026 has gone to a Mercedes-powered car.
230 points, fourth in the constructors' championship: Verstappen 145, Hadjar 71, Lawson 14 in the Red Bull.
6 non-finishes in 28 entries: four for Verstappen, two for Hadjar.
Red Bull Ford engine: 8 non-finishes in 56 entries across both teams, 14%, the lowest of the five manufacturers.
The engine
Red Bull's power unit is its own, built by Red Bull Powertrains in partnership with Ford. The reliability comparison across all five manufacturers:
Power unit
Did not finish
Rate
Red Bull Ford
8 of 56
14%
Mercedes
18 of 112
16%
Audi
5 of 28
18%
Ferrari
20 of 84
24%
Honda
15 of 28
54%
Every 2026 entry grouped by the power unit in the car. Crashes count as well as failures.
It has not been flawless. Verstappen's Chinese Grand Prix ended with an energy recovery coolant failure, and at Monaco his engine died as he dropped the clutch at the start. On the same afternoon Hadjar spent a long stretch of the race down on power, and still finished third:
Isack HadjarRed Bull · Monaco Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 15:37:07 local
DriverYeah, no power out of 8.
EngineerOut of 8. Yeah, copy that, mate. We can see the issue. We're trying to work on a fix. You're doing a great job. Engine 3, position 11. Engine 3, position 11.
"Yeah, no power out of 8." His engineer: "We can see the issue. We're trying to work on a fix."
Getting faster
Verstappen scored 49 race points in the first seven rounds and 84 in the last seven, with a podium in every race he finished from Austria onward. After Spa, his engineer said what the numbers show: "The pace is getting better... we have more coming." At Monza Verstappen was blunter about where the car still falls short:
"It is a very nice podium. You can see clearly our weaknesses here."
Three drivers in two cars
Hadjar scored 71 points in eleven races, with points in each of his last seven before he fractured his wrist in training. Lawson, dropped by Red Bull after two races in 2025, came back to the car for Zandvoort, Monza and Madrid and scored 14 points in it. Whether Hadjar returns in Baku is Red Bull's decision after a simulator session. Each season is measured in Max Verstappen's 2026, Isack Hadjar's 2026 and Liam Lawson's 2026.
What is left
Nine rounds remain, starting with Baku on 26 September. Red Bull are fourth in the constructors' championship, 76 points behind McLaren. The full table is in the 2026 standings, and every team's non-finishes in every 2026 F1 retirement.
What this measures, and what it does not
Results, grid positions and points come from Formula 1's official timing data and match the published standings after the Spanish Grand Prix.
The engine comparison counts every non-finish, crashes included, so it is a guide to reliability rather than a pure measure of it.
Quotes are taken only from lines where the speaker label and the words agree. Where we have shortened a message, the cut is marked with an ellipsis.
Frequently asked questions
Does Red Bull make its own engine in 2026?
Yes. 2026 is the first season Red Bull has raced its own power unit, built by Red Bull Powertrains with Ford. Racing Bulls use it too.
Have Red Bull won a race in 2026?
Not in the first fourteen rounds. Max Verstappen's best results are second places in Austria, Hungary and Madrid.
Who is driving the second Red Bull in 2026?
Isack Hadjar started the season in it. After he fractured his wrist, Liam Lawson drove it at the Dutch, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix.
Is the Red Bull Ford engine reliable?
By our count it has the lowest non-finish rate of the five 2026 engines: 8 of 56 entries across Red Bull and Racing Bulls, 14%, with crashes included.
Sources
Results, grid positions and points: Formula 1 timing data via FastF1, matching the published standings after the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix
Every radio message quoted: our own team radio archive
Hear it from the car
"No power out of 8" went out on the radio long before anyone on television knew why Hadjar was slow at Monaco.
The Formula Dream app plays live driver radio as it is broadcast, transcript beside the audio, and collects every FIA document of the weekend as it is published, including the power unit element changes that come with a first-year engine. There is also a live timing Dashboard, currently in beta.
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