First step towards an ambitious project and the new generation, Red Bull Racing signed Ben Hodgkinson for their newly appointed engine division, Red Bull Powertrains.

Hodgkinson has been covering the role of Mechanical Director for the German team since 2007, and worked for Mercedes in the past 20 years. When his contract expires, he'll join Red Bull Powertrain as Techincal Director, where he'll focus on projecting the first Red Bull engine for the new formula in 2025, with the Austrian team to carry on Honda's technology until the 2024 season.

"We are delighted to welcome Ben to Red Bull Powertrains as Technical Director," team Principal and Ceo of the Powertrain unit Christian Horner announced. "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."

The new division is Red Bull’s single largest investment in F1 since the establishment of the team in 2005, and brings on a different, "independent" chapter for the Milton Keynes based team, which will see a more close collaboration with the other development units, especially with the chassis one.

"When Red Bull announced the creation of Red Bull Powertrains it was also announcing a new phase of the company’s ambition in Formula One – to bring every aspect of car design in-house and to put our destiny in our own hands."

The "ultimate expression" of this new view will be the 2025 power unit, and Red Bull is already focusing on it: "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,” Horner concluded.

Hodgkinson declared: "I'm extremely excited to be joining Red Bull Powertrains as Technical Director. 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."

He's delighted with his new role, and to embrace the project: "Red Bull is a serious player in Formula One 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.”

🗣 "Ben 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." More from Christian 👉 https://t.co/GUDiIeU8Up

— Red Bull Racing Honda (@redbullracing) April 23, 2021