Ferrari hopes to keep its 2 customer teams in 2014
With the arrival of the new engines next season, Scuderia emphasized the importance of retaining its customer teams while a possible switch of Toro Rosso to Renault engines is considered.
Ferrari, which is currently developing its 1.6l V6 turbo hybrid engine, hopes to retain its customer teams, Sauber F1 Team and Toro Rosso, but the Faenza-based team seems ready to turn to Renault for 2014 to align with its big sister, Red Bull Racing. Luca Marmorini, head of the engine and electronics department in Maranello, remains cautious about this potential departure.
« I do not know if Toro Rosso will be with us next year, but we continue to work very well with them in any case. It’s an important contribution for the development of Ferrari engines, and I also believe that we provide them with competitive engines. »
The Prancing Horse is therefore looking for new partners for 2014 in case Toro Rosso decides to abandon the Ferrari engine. Force India appears to be the potential replacement. The two teams are already linked by the presence of Jules Bianchi, a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and a driver with the Indian team. Marmoniri added that he hopes to supply engines to at least 2 customer teams next season.
I believe that a customer team is a very important opportunity for an engine supplier. Firstly, we can test more engines and collect more data. It is also important to have a reference with a car that has the same engine, for comparison purposes. Ferrari is therefore very involved in providing competitive engines to its customer teams.
