Christian Horner hailed his team's "statement of intent" after snatching another top engineer away from their Mercedes rivals.
Red Bull have made a habit of hiring the best minds from rival teams in recent times. Mercedes and Ferrari have lost top talent to the Milton Keynes outfit, and the latest will be a blow to the Silver Arrows.
Chief power unit engineer Phil Prew will leave Mercedes after six years to join the new powertrains department. And he brings with him a wealth of experience from his previous career at McLaren, where one of his former roles was as race engineer to Lewis Hamilton.
Team principal Horner is particularly pleased about Red Bull's latest staff addition. "I'm delighted that Phil is going to be joining the team and he has a phenomenal track record. He has been a key component of Mercedes' recent success and, again, it is another statement of intent of where we want to be with the power unit.
"I think we have assembled great strength and depth within the business and it's fantastic to see it really coming together and coming to life. Phil is one of a few key signings recently that add to the very talented group of people that we have already assembled."
One of Prew's many previous roles saw him work under Horner's right-hand man, Adrian Newey. And the opinion of Red Bull's chief technical officer was an important one sought by the team boss before he decided to convince the Mercedes man to switch his allegiance.
"Adrian has known Phil from years ago, so obviously I consulted his opinion," Horner added. No start date has yet been revealed for Prew, who will likely have to take a period of gardening leave considering his knowledge of Mercedes' engineering efforts.
Horner spoke positively about the team's powertrains project in the wake of the recent completion of their brand new state-of-the-art facility in Milton Keynes. In Hungary, he told Sky Sports: "Powertrains is going from strength to strength. We've taken on further appointments and recruits, which will be announced shortly and that's exciting for the project.
"I think that things are really taking shape. You can see in Milton Keynes we've gone from being a few units on an industrial estate to being a technology campus. The investment by the group has been significant. The first engine is due to fire up shortly. It's been a steep learning curve, but we've recruited some phenomenal talent."
