Red Bull have poached senior Mercedes engineer Ben Hodgkinson for their new powertrains division, the Milton Keynes-based team has announced.
The move comes as earlier this year, Red Bull said it would be making a significant investment into its new powertrains division and would sign new talent following Honda’s decision to withdraw from F1 at the end of the year.
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Red Bull will continue to use rebranded Honda power units from next year onwards, and the addition of Hodgkinson to their new engine department is a sign of their commitment to being competitive in Formula 1 well beyond next season.
Hodgkinson worked at Mercedes High Performance Powertrains (HPP) for roughly two decades, with him most recently serving as their head of mechanical engineering.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed the signing of Hodgkinson and said it should be interpreted as a signal of their long-term plans and renewed commitment to Formula 1.
“We are delighted to welcome Ben to Red Bull Powertrains as technical director,” Horner said.
“He comes to this hugely exciting project as a proven race winner and as an innovator capable of leading a like-minded team of highly skilled engineers.
“When Red Bull announced the creation of Red Bull Powertrains it was also announcing a new phase of the company’s ambition in Formula 1 – to bring every aspect of car design in-house and to put our destiny in our own hands.
“The ultimate expression of that is the development of a Red Bull power unit to meet the next generation of Formula 1 engine regulations.
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“Ben’s appointment signals our long-term intent and we will support him and his team with every available resource required in order to succeed,” he added.
Hodgkinson, for his part, said his decision to leave Mercedes HPP after close to two decades wasn’t an easy one to make, but he is excited to join Red Bull.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining Red Bull Powertrains as technical director,” he said.
“It was not easy to make the decision to leave HPP after almost 20 years but the opportunity to take on such a far-reaching and important project is a great honour.
“Red Bull is a serious player in Formula 1 and have been our biggest rival in the hybrid era, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together in this new phase of the company’s journey.”
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