Red Bull’s power unit has drawn significant attention after impressing with its energy deployment on the straights during Formula 1 testing in Bahrain, even though the gap reduced on the second day. McLaren has acknowledged Red Bull’s apparent advantage in energy management but has also highlighted the strengths of the Mercedes engine, considered one of the benchmarks in the field. At the same time, work is ongoing to refine operating parameters in energy management.
There has been considerable surprise surrounding the Red Bull power unit, which from the very first day of testing in Bahrain displayed extremely interesting data in terms of deployment — that is, how it manages and releases energy along the various straights, achieving noticeably higher top speeds compared to its rivals. As expected, that margin was already significantly reduced on the second day, more than halving compared to the initial figures.
Even so, at least for the moment, the unit developed in Milton Keynes appears capable of reaching very competitive top speeds. It is worth noting, however, that much of this advantage seems to be concentrated on the main long straight rather than consistently across the entire lap.
What has particularly surprised rival teams is the consistency with which Red Bull has managed to extract certain energy values. That said, a clearer evaluation will only be possible over the coming days and during the second test, when teams reduce experimentation and begin running more representative configurations.
Red Bull appeared to adopt a rather aggressive approach from the outset, including in terms of engine revs on the straights, operating at higher levels than its competitors. Those rivals began to close the gap on the second day, albeit without matching the peak figures displayed by the Anglo-Austrian outfit. Analysing the situation, McLaren has admitted to being impressed by how the DM01 manages energy, yet this does not mean the Mercedes power unit should be underestimated.
“I think, looking at the deployment levels, Red Bull has done a really good job. As others have said, to start from scratch and get to where they are now is incredible. I know that at Mercedes HPP they have worked extremely hard to give us the PU we have, and I have no doubt that we will achieve the deployment we need to be competitive this year,” explained Niel Houldey, Technical Director – Engineering at McLaren, one of the teams powered by the Mercedes star.
Houldey confirmed that, based on data gathered during the first day and a half, Red Bull does appear to hold a certain advantage over the competition at the end of the straights, although not as large as Toto Wolff had suggested on Wednesday. Everything depends not only on how much energy can be recovered but also on how it is deployed. Some teams prefer to spend more energy on corner exit or in specific sections of the track. This, however, does not mean that the Mercedes power unit lacks other strengths. On the contrary, Niel Houldey believes it offers advantages in different areas.
“At the moment we are working with them [Mercedes HPP] to understand how we can improve it, because there are opportunities we can exploit to close the gap to Red Bull. Right now it looks like there is a small gap, but I think our power unit is advantageous in other areas, so in the end it balances out.”
From McLaren’s perspective, when it comes to the internal combustion engine — the aspect most widely discussed in recent weeks — Mercedes has produced an excellent unit. The team also stressed that having the best power unit is not determined solely by energy management.
“I think Mercedes has built a really, really very good ICE [internal combustion engine]. And obviously that is an evolution compared to previous years. At the moment it is very difficult to separate power, aerodynamic drag and deployment. But yes, from what we have seen, they have done a very good job. Right now it is really difficult to interpret the full picture.”
Continuing his analysis, Niel Houldey explained that the initial feedback on McLaren’s MCL40 on track was even more positive than expected from simulator data. Over the winter, teams work extensively with models and performance estimates, but once the car hit the circuit it delivered stronger results than predicted, providing valuable insights to refine the simulator and make it more representative of real-world conditions.
“I think the biggest surprise for us was that the on-track results, or at least the behaviour of the car on track, were not exactly what we had seen in the simulator. The car seemed to perform better on track than in the simulator, which for us is positive. Obviously, we then used that information to fine-tune the simulator and make it more realistic.”
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