Laurent Mekies says Pink Bull Ford powertrain period fulfils Dietrich Mateschitz's “dream”

Pink Bull workforce principal Laurent Mekies introduced the workforce’s 2026 livery in Detroit, drawing appreciable reward from followers of Components 1. However with the outfit’s new powertrain being backed by Ford Racing, he used this second to ship a tribute to the late founder Dietrich Mateschitz, whose “dream” for the workforce has now been fulfilled.

Each Pink Bull and sister squad Racing Bulls opened the 2026 launch season with a joint occasion at Michigan Central Station, house of the groups’ energy unit companion. Coinciding with the most important regulation overhaul the collection has seen in years, the Milton Keynes outfit will race for the primary time with an influence unit constructed in-house.

Whereas it is a big endeavor for the workforce, it was solely inevitable, as Pink Bull sought to fulfil the dream of its late founder.

“2026 marks the beginning of a brand new and vital period for Components One and for Pink Bull,” Mekies mentioned. “We needed our livery to replicate this, whereas additionally giving a nod to Pink Bull Racing’s beginnings.

“We’re in F1 due to the dream of 1 man, Dietrich Mateschitz, and a number of other years later, he had one other dream, to create an engine. This livery is designed to have a good time that spirit that we entered the game with.

“Within the yr that an Oracle Pink Bull Racing automotive carries a Pink Bull Ford Powertrains PU for the primary time, it felt solely proper to replicate a few of our historical past in our livery.”

Pink Bull is coming into an engine race that, whereas reset for this yr, has been led by established producers for years. To be ready to confidently run its engine for testing in Barcelona later this month is extremely spectacular.

“The workforce have completed an unbelievable job, to be right here at present and to be within the place to go to Barcelona shakedown with our personal automotive and our personal energy unit for the primary time ever,” the Frenchman added. “That is the results of the efforts of two,000 folks on the Pink Bull Know-how Campus, essentially the most gifted group that you will discover and so they’ve been working collectively to get us to this second.

Laurent Mekies, Pink Bull Racing Crew Principal, Jim Farley, Ford CEO

Picture by: Pink Bull Content material Pool

“It is the start of a particularly thrilling journey for all of us and we’ll take to the observe as one – one Pink Bull chassis and energy unit.”

Ben Hodgkinson, Pink Bull Powertrains technical director, outlined the necessity for the change: “It is a daring and audacious challenge. That is about being masters of our personal future. From the very starting, we needed it to be a Pink Bull chassis and energy unit, developed collectively in concord.”

By no means turning down a danger, Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of company initiatives and new investments of Pink Bull GmbH, confirmed that this transfer is just a continuation of what the workforce initially stood for.

“This can be a new chapter for us. Constructing our personal engine and bringing it to life on observe is a exceptional step for our model. We’re optimistic and really excited to go dwell with our automotive and our energy unit. There can be vital regulatory adjustments in 2026.

“Sure, the facility unit is a significant a part of that, however there are various different parts as effectively. We took the same danger after we entered Components One again in 2005, and that mindset hasn’t modified.”

Images from Pink Bull Racing launch

Red Bull Racing livery