MAX Vs GEORGE

Pitch interviews two engineering twin brothers at the peak of their powers pitted against each other at Red Bull and Mercedes. What could possibly go wrong?

Sibling rivalry may be overstated in many households, but for twins Max and George Poulter, their career trajectories have exposed them to one of motorsport’s most intense rivalries, from the inside and out. As engineers at Red Bull and Mercedes respectively, they occupy different sides of a battlefield long defined by contrasting technical philosophies, shifting regulations, and personal rivalries.

Where the opposite may have been the more entertaining story, there’s none of the typical animosity you might expect, speaking to Max and George, you find diplomatically sensible minds ¬– keen engineers, primarily, who were all too happy to oblige within their respective roles at the top of Formula 1.

George Poulter, Mercedes-AMG

For some context, George is a Mechanical Design Engineer working in Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s controls sub-group, “In essence, we’re in charge of the brakes primarily (callipers and pads),” he says, “as well as anything the driver touches – for example the steering wheel and pedals.” This is him trying to simplify this impossibly complicated industry. His role, he states, anchors one of the most methodical-minded teams in F1 history.

Speaking with a broad Sheffield accent, George is sat outside the Silver Arrows’ Brackley Headquarters, our conversation takes place ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, where Mercedes’ George Russell would place fifth.

From spending time with Williams in 2020, before joining his current employer in 2022, George highlights a cultural shift between the two sister garages; “When you’re a Championship winning team, you can’t afford to have DNFs. At Williams, it was probably better to get a part more quickly to the car, limiting cost constraints at the expense of reliability. At Mercedes, each component endures stringent validation processes – right down to the nuts and bolts. It’s impressive,” he concludes, of that blueprint upholding the eight-time Constructors’ Champion’s hallmark of consistency.

Max Poulter, Red Bull.

Max, on the other hand, heads up Red Bull’s Powertrains division. “We’re quite unique in that we’ve been working on the 2026 car for what’s coming up to five years,” he says speaking from their HQ on Bradbourne Drive, in Milton Keynes. “We’re into the full development and finalising procedures now, basically getting the hybrid power unit ready for the start of next season. It’s a case of testing it, breaking it, and testing again to try and get the most out of what we’ve built. From 20 full-time staff in 2021 – where everyone else was enjoying Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s tête-à-tête in the World Championships – we now have around 500 people working long days and nights on next season’s power unit alone.”

The two brothers’ set-up feels a fitting one. George, Poulter not Russell, lives within a team historically obsessed with chassis balance and aero innovation. (Think Mercedes’ W13 ‘size zero’ sidepod concept in 2022, which Adrian Newey, then of Red Bull, described as a polar-opposite turn compared to the Bulls’ chosen sculpted sides).

Meanwhile, Max – Poulter again, not Verstappen – aligns more linearly with Red Bull’s emphasis on engine excellence and reliability. Newey, again, stated plainly that the key lesson learned from the 2014 22 era was to “have a decent engine”. It feels that philosophy remains in Milton Keynes, with the 66-year-old only announcing his £30million move to Aston Martin in September 2024 – Max’s aforementioned powertrain programme having started under the Stratford-born mechanic three years prior.

While the Poulters themselves are perfectly amicable – George jokingly opening up by saying his brother “works for a competitor” – the drivers that their respective teams employ couldn’t be more different. The rivalry between Verstappen and Russell has bubbled up this season, with on-track retaliation and verbal spats a common thread, that tension underscores the high-stakes environment in which both brothers operate.

“It’s such a unique situation, but an enjoyable one,” George continues. “We've both been very close and we're extremely competitive. Having studied together all the way through university in Sheffield, then sharing a brief spell at Mercedes together in 2020, we’re well versed in this world now. We can’t go into too many specifics over the dinner table, mind.

“We both follow the sport as fans, and it can get pretty tasty – especially with all the Verstappen-Horner gossip that came out of the Red Bull paddock, so I like to tease him about that.”

It’s a statement that comes off the back of a challenging season for both teams, McLaren, at the time of writing, now lead the way in both Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships. Mercedes and Red Bull sit third and fourth respectively. As a result, and as is often the case in this incredibly fast-moving world, both have one eye on 2026, George slightly less so than Max.

The Mercedes man says, “A lot of what we do is iteration. We haven’t got a bad car at the minute in the W16, and each part is so highly optimised, to throw all that out the window would be a backwards step.

“We’re not far removed from contending for Championships, our last Constructors’ arrived in 2021, and I think there’s real potential that we’ll see the start of another racing dynasty – like we did the last time the regulations changed in 2014 and 2022 respectively.”

Those regulations the Sheffield-born mechanic mentions promise a new generation of ‘nimble’ race cars. Shedding 30kg in weight, the cars all slim down by 10cm in width, and lose 20cm in length – powered by new hybrid units featuring increased battery output and 100 per cent sustainable fuels – all contributing to the FIA’s pursuit of agility, efficiency, and more entertaining racing.

George continues: “The cars are so highly optimised that once you are on a path, or have a head start, it's very difficult to get off it. We've experienced that here and I'm sure we're starting to see the start of that at Red Bull with a few key figures leaving.

“It definitely wouldn't make sense to just get a blank piece of paper and ignore everything we've done in the past. We’ve a huge advantage that stems from Mercedes’ strong philosophy on reliability. It means we’re always in the fight.”

The Poulter brothers have had to go through some rigorous third-party media checks of their own to agree to this interview. Red Bull less so – they seem to be the trailblazers in this high secrecy world. Historically, at least. The twins’ willingness to speak jointly signifies the levels of professional trust present, especially given how protective F1 teams can be of intellectual property, understandably so.

It's a business that’s well settled in the Midlands, with the sports’ history and heritage all based in the neighbouring satellite towns of Silverstone, meaning the pair are never too far away.

George’s reasoning is that “Formula 1 has always been a very British sport, a lot of teams were founded here, and a lot of the talent is around this area now with engineers re-settling from all over the world. There's legacy to it, a lot of the big teams were founded here back in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and it all stemmed from there.”

It's a light dig from the Mercedes man, Red Bull having joined the sport in 2005, but the details Max finds he has to agree with. He says, “We have the best of the best people around us here in Milton Keynes. We've invested in military-grade facilities and once that’s in place it’s almost impossible to leave. So, we've got everything here that should create that winning formula. I hope it’s going to be another four years of domination like we’ve seen with Verstappen most recently. And, like George said, that’s not out of the question.

“Pre-season testing will tell more of a tale for next year, but these new regulations should bring the chasing pack closer together. As with any new rule set, if someone’s had a brilliant idea – and that might well be us – that really changes the concept, and you get a big advantage. That’s what makes it so exciting for me at the moment, after making this powertrain my recent life’s work.

“It's not very often you get the chance to really tear everything up and go back to the basics to try and figure out how best to harvest power in a hybrid unit like the one we’re faced with. I'm confident we've delivered a good product so far, so it will be fascinating to gauge where we are compared to the competition, both new and old. My brother included.”

And with that, we leave the final words to Max: “I don't think you can work in Formula 1 without enjoying it. It's long days, every day. And you wouldn't do it if you weren’t a fan. It's a demanding job, and it does have an impact on your lifestyle. But I love it. As I’m sure my brother does.

“As for me and George, we work well together. And it's not something we've ever brought into our careers, but maybe one day we'll sit side by side. I think we would make an unstoppable duo.”