Racing Bulls: “No magic” in taking gearbox and suspension from Red Bull

Racing Bulls says there is “no magic” from the team taking as many parts as allowed by the Formula 1 regulations from parent squad Red Bull, amid unease over itself and Haas.

For 2025 Racing Bulls is sharing Red Bull’s Honda engines as well as taking the Milton Keynes outfit’s gearbox and both front and rear suspension, increasing its synergy with its parent team compared to previous seasons.

Its relationship with Red Bull prompted unease from the likes of McLaren at the start of last year, and while the hype around Racing Bulls’ performance died down as it struggled to improve on its 2023 results, there has been fresh attention on the rapidly improving Haas team, which also has a unique business model that relies on parts taken from Ferrari.

Some teams have been questioning whether rivals should continue to be allowed to take gearboxes and suspensions as they move up the grid, although a suggestion to force midfield teams to produce their own parts once they finish in the top five of the constructors’ championship has gone nowhere.

According to Racing Bulls team boss Mekies, the rules enabling the use of shareable components have helped F1 be more competitive by allowing lower-end teams to focus their efforts on chassis and aerodynamics, but their modest results show it hasn’t given them a massive advantage either.

“There was a level of hype at the beginning of last year where, I guess people felt there could be some magic in the fact that somebody takes a gearbox and suspension,” Mekies told Motorsport.com.

“But it’s not a new regulation. It’s been there for 15 years, and you have never seen guys that will be taking these items from somebody else, suddenly fighting for the championship, or fighting for the top three or the top four, it just never happened.

“So, it is what it is. Lobbying is part of Formula 1, but I think the reality of the grid is that probably more than ever. You had the top four teams and the rest of the world. And I think as a sport, the shareable components are very much there for that, to avoid that you have a division one and division two, and that we can race with 20 cars in a competitive, tight field. And I think from that standpoint, nothing has changed.

“Do you expect that 2026 regulations will produce something else? No, if anything, the grid may be more spread out at the beginning of ’26 because that’s what new regulations do. So anything you have that can avoid that spread to be too big is good.”

Mekies argued it doesn’t make sense for smaller teams to produce everything in-house anyway as the series emphasises efficiency and sustainability under its budget cap.

He questioned, “Do the fans care if you have your own gearbox or not? But you could push the thinking a bit further.

“Is it right to spend that kind of money on gearbox development? What for? So, I think it was just a sensible decision made at a time when we are trying to keep the cost under control and to get the field a bit less spread out.

“And I think it contributed to that and it allows a business model like ours or Haas’ to exist without needing to add another X amount of people. We are more than 600 for a midfield team. I think it should be enough to run two cars…!”