It will be “a long time” before many of Red Bull’s new engine department recruits can start work. “Some of them cannot to go the new company, Red Bull Powertrains, before the end of 2023 – so a long time,” the Mercedes team boss told Sky Deutschland. Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko said earlier in Barcelona that Mercedes will struggle to replace many of the defectors because about 10 of them are “managers”. And the Mercedes team chief suggested he is also planning to step up the new engine ‘battlefield’ with Red Bull. “We knew that Red Bull was taking this seriously, but so do we,” said Wolff.

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