By: The Azerbaijan Grand Prix left Ferrari fans with an image they will unfortunately find hard to forget.
On the streets of the City of Winds, Red Bull humiliated Ferrari on the straights, with the RB26 able to swallow up both SF-26s and, with Max Verstappen, fight Mercedes for victory right down to the final metre in one of Formula 1’s most power-demanding Grands Prix.
A considerable slight, given that the power unit driving the Milton Keynes car was essentially built by an organisation that has existed for five years but has only eight months of activity as an independent engine manufacturer.
Eight months eclipse a history stretching back almost 80 years
Red Bull Powertrains, in just eight months, has put its maiden effort on track in a regulatory cycle with entirely unknown parameters, unexpectedly claiming the mantle of the best internal combustion engine.
Eight months of Red Bull Powertrains’ existence have now eclipsed almost 80 years of experience at Maranello in producing high-performance engines for road and track.
An excellence which, for founder Enzo Ferrari, was a source of pride, encapsulated in the famous phrase:
“Aerodynamics are compensation for those who cannot get horsepower out of an engine.”
It is objectively difficult to accept that Ferrari has produced a deficient power unit in a regulatory cycle in which the engine is so important.
Curiously, the Baku slap comes in the week in which Christian Horner, the main architect and driving force behind the creation of the Anglo-Austrian team’s engine division, has put forward his candidacy for a role in the management of the Italian team, which has long lacked a car capable of consistently fighting for victories and challenging for the World Championship.
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Azerbaijan GP 2026
