The Milton Keynes outfit has been beefing up its engine program for some time before partnering with Porsche for F1’s new era of power unit rules from 2026.
In his ambitious endeavours, he has carried out a transfer campaign to recruit the best possible staff and has already taken several key men from rival Mercedes in the last 12 months.
Among them, its new technical director, Ben Hodgkinson , who had been head of mechanical engineering at Mercedes’ high-performance power units since 2017, after a 20-year spell at the German manufacturer.
It has now come to light that an eternal F1 figure, Phil Prew , who was most recently chief engineer at Mercedes’ engine division, has also agreed to join Red Bull to take a major role within its powertrain project.
However, the start date has not yet been officially announced. As such an important figure in the Silver Arrows, it is likely that he will have to go through the period of gardening leave (without work) before he can start his new duties with Red Bull.
Prew has had a long career in F1, having previously spent 25 years at McLaren until joining Mercedes Motors in January 2016.
He originally joined McLaren as a Vehicle Dynamics Engineer in 1997, then rose through the ranks to become Race Engineer, Principal Race Engineer and then Chief Engineer from early 2013.
Prew is famous for having worked with Lewis Hamilton as race engineer on the Briton’s first title in 2008, having previously held that role for David Coulthard and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Prew’s move to Red Bull follows the recent completion of the company’s powertrain factory, which is undergoing expansion.
At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had hinted at new signings for his engine project.
“The Powertrains program is going from strength to strength,” he said. “We have made more appointments and hires, which will be announced shortly, and that is exciting for the project.”
“I think things are taking shape. In Milton Keynes we have gone from being a few units on an industrial estate to being a technology campus. The group’s investment has been significant.”
He added: “The first engine will be running shortly. It’s been a steep learning curve, but we’ve hired some phenomenal talent.”
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