Red Bull and the question of the Renault engine
The four consecutive titles seem to be forgotten by Red Bull, which does not hesitate to criticize its engine supplier, Renault. Some even see the possibility that the team might completely buy out Renault Sport F1 to have its own engine. But there's a long way from idea to execution...
Since the arrival of the new V6 hybrid engine, Renault has clearly lagged behind Mercedes in terms of performance, which has greatly penalized its clients, foremost among them Red Bull.
Red Bull’s anger
Obviously, this situation is not satisfactory for any of the parties involved, and significant efforts have been made to catch up. The men from Milton Keynes and Viry-Châtillon thought they had gone through the worst when they returned to success with Daniel Ricciardo at the Canadian Grand Prix.
But the return to Red Bull’s home turf proved catastrophic, with a new technical incident affecting Sebastian Vettel’s car. It was enough to reignite tensions between the two partners. As a result, rumors spread that Red Bull might create its own engine or buy Renault’s engine division.
Red Bull has, however, announced that it does not plan to change its engine in the short term, which is in any case impossible since Mercedes and Ferrari will never agree to strengthen a direct rival, while Honda has a two-year exclusivity contract with McLaren. Thus, Christian Horner, the head of Red Bull, stated: « There must be a change at Renault because it cannot continue like this. It is not good for Renault, it is not good for Red Bull. We have to work together, as partners. We will not have a different engine next year. We want to be competitive. We want to be in front and these kinds of problems should not happen. Something must happen since what is being done currently does not work. It’s not our business, it’s not our responsibility. We are the end user. It’s frustrating that the product does not work currently. »
Towards an acquisition of Renault Sport F1?
There remains the possibility of acquiring the Viry-Châtillon structure. The current engine is certainly less performant, but significant improvements can still take place during the winter break, authorized by the FIA.
But the argument put forward for a takeover by the red bull is that it would allow changing the holder of the engine’s intellectual property: it would no longer be a Renault engine but a Red Bull (or Infiniti) engine. This would allow for completely bypassing the regulations, which prohibit major modifications beyond the next winter break. Red Bull would then have the opportunity to start with a blank slate, benefiting from the ideas introduced by the Mercedes engine.
Red Bull clearly has the means, but is Renault a willing seller? That is less certain: this structure has existed since 1977 and has proven its competitiveness in the past, with numerous world titles to its credit. Moreover, with an increasingly complex European automotive market, Renault must benefit from global media exposure, which Formula 1 provides. It is highly unlikely that the people at Renault would forgo such exposure, especially since Renault’s previous withdrawals from F1 mainly occurred when it had won everything. Not on a note of failure and defeat…
With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr
