After Ben Hodgkinson, another Mercedes employee is moving to the Red Bull Formula 1 racing team.
Red Bull’s new Formula 1 engine project has brought in another high-profile new hire, Mercedes’ esteemed engineer Phil Prew. This is reported by “Motorsport.com”.
The Milton Keynes-based team is expanding its powertrain division ahead of a planned partnership with Porsche for the new Formula 1 era from 2026. In the past twelve months, some key employees have been poached from rival Mercedes.
This included new technical director at Red Bull Powertrains Ben Hodgkinson, who had worked for Mercedes since 2001 and had been “Head of Mechanical Engineering” since 2017.
Now it has turned out that Formula 1 veteran Prew – most recently chief engineer of the Mercedes engine department – has agreed to also switch to Red Bull in order to take on a leading role in their engine project.
However, an official launch date has not yet been announced. In Formula 1, Prew can look back on a long career. He was with McLaren for 25 years before moving to Mercedes Powertrains in January 2016.
Prew contributed to Hamilton’s first title
He originally joined McLaren in 1997 as a vehicle dynamics engineer, then rose to become a race engineer, lead race engineer and, from early 2013, chief engineer.
Prew is best known for his work as Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer for the Brit’s first world title in 2008. He had previously held this role for David Coulthard and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Speaking on the sidelines of last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner welcomed the new signing: “I’m delighted Phil will be joining the team. And he has a phenomenal track record, he’s been a key component of Mercedes’ recent success. “
Red Bull is driving the engine project forward
Prew’s commitment is “another declaration of intent for where we want to go with the Power Unit,” he said. “I think we’ve built a lot of strength and depth within the company. And it’s amazing to see it really come together and come to life.”
Asked about further recruitment, Horner said: “I think all the key employees are now in place. So our management structure is in place and of course they are already working hard on the rules for 2026, which will hopefully be confirmed soon.”
“The first engine should be started shortly. It was a steep learning curve, but we have recruited some phenomenal talent,” affirmed the Red Bull team boss.