US Customs has derailed a Red Bull-Ford F1 engine test by seizing a turbocharger – Jalopnik

Red Bull Racing is taking a huge leap into the unknown this season by debuting its first F1 power source. As part of its new partnership, Ford has contributed a significant amount of resources to the engine’s development. However, things weren’t all smooth sailing for the young program. A race to test a turbocharger before the 2022 summer holidays was derailed after the part was seized by US Customs and Border Protection. Although most F1 teams are based in the UK, many have alliances that require cooperation across international borders.

For those unfamiliar with F1, the championship’s governing body is imposing a mandatory summer holiday to give team staff a respite from the almost year-round season. Christian Hertrich, Ford Racing chief powertrain engineer, told an astonishing story to The Drive indirectly caused by this legal deadline. Red Bull didn’t have the facilities to test the turbo, so the program decided to put it in a suitcase and have an engineer deliver it to Ford in Michigan. However, a customs agent decided to confiscate the part. Hertrich said:

“So I realized I was working in Formula 1 when I was at Customs and Border Patrol at 2am trying to fix this turbocharger, because within 12 hours we had to pull the plug for the summer break and then we couldn’t test anymore. We had to get data out of this to meet our deadlines. That was my opening experience, and it was right that I had to deal with border patrol at the airport.”

Hertrich would note that Ford and Red Bull had not yet established a proper procedure for moving parts across the Atlantic with the necessary paperwork. Four years later the situation is very different. Ocean-spanning collaborations are not new to Red Bull or F1 as a whole. The team previously worked with Honda. The Japanese carmaker is now linked to Aston Martin. Haas, an American team, divides its activities between Great Britain and North Carolina. Cadillac is ready to do the same with its U.S. base outside Indianapolis.

Rival F1 teams would love to get their hands on Red Bull’s turbocharger. The new powerplant is under scrutiny amid rumors that it could exceed the 16:1 compression ratio limit set in this year’s technical regulations. The technical chiefs of each F1 team will meet at an FIA meeting next week, where the subject will be discussed. It is feared that Red Bull-Ford powered cars could have a 13bhp lead over the rest of the field, worth an estimated four-tenths of a second per lap.