Red Bull multiplies partnership extensions
While no official announcement has yet been made about its engine, Red Bull took advantage of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to announce the extension of its partnerships with Siemens, Sabelt, and Oz.
The first extended agreement is therefore the one that associates it with Siemens. The German conglomerate is involved through its software division specializing in product lifecycle management. This less visible component is nevertheless essential for an F1 team as it allows them to manage the hundreds of parts to be produced every week to meet the development cycle of the racing car.
For Siemens, this partnership extended until 2018 allows to push the boundaries of its products in order to offer them to other clients, as explained by Neil Dunsmuir, the Vice-President of Siemens PLM Europe-Africa-Middle East: « This partnership serves as a unique technical demonstration to our clients and prospects. It also provides us with invaluable data and measurements for the development of our project lifecycle management solutions for other industries.»
Like Siemens, the new agreement with Oz stipulates that the rims from the Italian brand will continue to equip the Red Bull cars until the end of the 2018 season. However, the extension with Sabelt is somewhat more limited as it now runs until 2017. For Red Bull, this is a historic partnership since the Italian company has been supplying its seat belts since the team made its debut in 2005.
But this series of announcements does not hide the absence of official news regarding its engine. After a year marked by a more than stormy relationship, it’s understandable that the two partners are not in a hurry to announce such an extension…
On the other hand, it is indeed a sign that the threats of withdrawal from the sport have fizzled out and that the team will indeed be present on the starting grid.
From our special correspondent in Abu Dhabi
