Red Bull Racing continues to dominate both on and off the circuit, following the announcement that Sir Lewis Hamilton’s former race engineer Phil Prew has moved to the Austrian side.
The constructors’ leader’s announcement has further strengthened the team’s preparation for when their partnership with Honda ends at the end of 2025, with Porsche looking set to power Red Bull from 2026.
Prew will work on the team’s future engines in a leading role, the first of which is due to be fired up shortly.
The experienced engineer spent 18 years working for the McLaren F1 Team, where he initially spent time shadowing current Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey.
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Prew was Hamilton’s race engineer in 2008, the season which saw the seven-time World Champion claim the first of his titles.
The pair were also together again in 2016, after Prew made the switch from the Woking-based team to the German side.
Horner highlighted Prew’s strengths of having a “phenomenal track record”, whilst explaining how “delighted” he is with the signing.
“I’m delighted that Phil is going to be joining the team and he has a phenomenal track record,” Horner said.
“He has been a key component of Mercedes’ recent success and, again, it is another statement of intent of where we want to be with the power unit.
“I think we have assembled great strength and depth within the business and it’s fantastic to see it really coming together and coming to life. Phil’s one of a few key signings recently that add to the very talented group of people that we have already assembled.”
The Red Bull boss admitted that he asked Newey for “his opinion” on the potential signing of Prew, with Newey fully backing the successful attempt.
“Adrian has known Phil from years ago, so obviously I consulted his opinion,” added the 48-year-old.
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Horner was asked about Red Bull’s future power units at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with the Brit admitting to the media that things are “really taking shape”.
“I think that things are really taking shape,” he said.
“You can see in Milton Keynes we’ve gone from being a few units on an industrial estate to being a technology campus. The investment by the group has been significant. The first engine is due to fire up shortly. It’s been a steep learning curve but we’ve recruited some phenomenal talent.”