Red Bull Cautious of Ferrari Power Unit Gains Amid Planned Reliability Fixes – Horner

Christian Horner says Oracle Red Bull Racing will need to be wary about potential improvements from Scuderia Ferrari during the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season if they have solved the reliability issues that blighted them during 2022.

Power units within Formula 1 are currently homologated, with changes only being allowed to solve any mechanical issues, and Ferrari will go into the new season with some updates that should stop them failing as much as they did last season.

Horner, the Team Principal of Red Bull, says Ferrari solving their reliability concerns means they will be able to unleash the full potential of their power unit, something they were unable to do at times due to the fragility of the engine.

“The engines are homologated so theoretically there shouldn’t be big horsepower gains,” said Horner to German publication Auto Motor und Sport.  “And also the fuel is homologated. So any reports of new fuels shouldn’t be permitted.

“But of course Ferrari had some reliability issues last year, so if they’ve managed to address that, and through that been able to turn up their power, inevitably they will see some form of progress now.”

“We saw them turn down the power after their failures last year so we know they have the ability within their engine to turn it up more.”

Horner says Red Bull could also have a few updates to their Honda engines due to their own reliability concerns last season, but they will not have the same kind of benefit with their changes as Ferrari are likely to have.

“We had some small reliability issues, but nothing to the magnitude of Ferrari,” Horner added.