Christian Horner claims Red Bull poached over 200 F1 engine specialists from Mercedes. Christian Horner has highlighted Red Bull's extensive recruitment campaign in recent months.

Despite the departures of key figures like Rob Marshall, Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, and the recent exit of Will Courtenay, Christian Horner remains confident in Red Bull’s resources and future projects, even though recent results have been less than encouraging.

While the team is working tirelessly to secure at least the drivers’ championship, the development of the Powertrains project at Milton Keynes is moving full speed ahead. Honda will cease supplying Power Units to Red Bull at the end of 2025, as the Japanese manufacturer will partner with Aston Martin starting the following season.

In response, Red Bull will rely on technical support from Ford, marking the American automaker’s return to Formula 1 after more than two decades. Together, they will develop Red Bull’s first fully in-house engine, an ambitious project that will undoubtedly require time and additional engineers.

Christian Horner’s primary focus is on recruitment for the 2026 Formula One season rather than dwelling on recent high-profile departures. He expressed this sentiment during an interview with Channel 4, stating: “With Adrian, we’ve had an incredible experience. He’s been a crucial part of everything we’ve accomplished, and we will look back with great fondness and pride at all we achieved together. But he chose to take on a new challenge, and we were prepared for that.” – he pointed out.

Christian Horner further elaborated: “Adrian has been on the verge of retiring for the past 10 years, so we had to be ready for this. I believe we have depth in our team. He’s chosen to continue elsewhere.”

He also mentioned Jonathan Wheatley’s departure, acknowledging their long-standing contributions but emphasizing that these are just two individuals out of a much larger team of 2,000.

“We’ve hired almost 250 people in the past 12 months across the whole project, particularly in the powertrain and engine departments,” Horner explained. “No one talks about the 200-plus people we’ve brought in from Mercedes. There’s a lot of focus on the two who left, but that’s only because they’re more visible to the public.” – the Red Bull team principal concluded.