F1

To Leave 20 years job Over Red Bull was “Not Easy decision” Claims New Technical Director Ben Hodgkinson

by
Sabyasachi Biswas
April 24, 2021

Ben Hodgkinson is all set to take over the role of Technical Director of Red Bull Racing’s upcoming power unit. The Japanese giants, Honda are likely to part ways with Red Bull after the end of this season and the Milton-Keynes-based team is doing everything they can, to pull up their powertrains.

Hodgkinson having worked at Mercedes AMG High-Performance Powertrains for over 20 years and has decided to join arch-rivals Red Bull at the end of his contract. This has been a valuable addition to the Austrian team as they look to dethrone Mercedes as the reigning champions.

Experienced Mercedes man Ben Hodgkinson heads to Red Bull, with almost 20 years of engine expertise 🔀#F1 https://t.co/tXhVVOAdVO

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 23, 2021

Hodgkinson after joining his new team, stated, “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.”

Ben is a great addition for Red Bull, believes Christian Horner

The Milton-Keynes-based team Chief, Christian Horner believes Ben’s addition to the team will help them achieve further, in the coming days. Moreover, Horner asserted, “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.

🗣 "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

“The ultimate expression of that is the development of a Red Bull power unit to meet the next generation of Formula 1 engine regulations. 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”, Christian concluded.

The four-times Constructor’s Champions will ramp up their new powertrains division and Ben will probably be their head of the department. The man amasses enough experience at the Silver Arrows which makes him the perfect person to start over. It’ll be interesting to see how Hodgkinson fares at his new team and takes up things.