The appointment of Ben Hodgkinson is a statement of intent from Red Bull, coming at a time when the two teams are in a fierce battle for the world championship. Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton leads Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by one point after two races. Hodgkinson will become technical director of Red Bull’s new Powertrains department. Red Bull currently use Honda engines but the Japanese manufacturer is pulling out of Formula One at the end of this season. Red Bull have bought the intellectual property rights to their engines, which will allow them to take them over and build themselves. “The ultimate expression of that is the development of a Red Bull power unit to meet the next generation of F1 engine regulations.

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