Laurent Mekies is hiding the real reason Red Bull do not want to sell Aston Martin their F1 engine

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has publicly stated that Red Bull Powertrains is not yet ready to supply customer engines to rival Formula 1 teams like Aston Martin. However, Kyle Archer reports, citing OE24, that Red Bull's hesitation is actually driven by financial self-interest and fear of losing crucial constructors' prize money rather than technical readiness.

The writer notes that Red Bull fears the FIA's €15 million customer engine price cap would be dwarfed by lost championship prize money if an Adrian Newey-led Aston Martin outperformed Red Bull or Racing Bulls. With Honda struggling for performance in 2026, Red Bull is opting to protect its competitive edge rather than supply a potential front-running rival.