Yesterday’s piece concerning Red Bull’s 2016 tie-up has become somewhat contradictory, now that the energy drinks giant has demanded engine parity with Ferrari – or else they’ll quit.
Yes, once again the CEO of Red Bull Dietrich Mateschitz has issued a blatant threat to withdraw from Formula One. And this time, Toro Rosso will go too.
Using one of its own media outlets in Speedweek, the organisation highlighted that, “Red Bull doesn’t want to have customer engines that have 30 to 40 hp less and can be manipulated by the constructor in case of the customer team endangering the works team.”
“Red Bull would like to continue in Formula One only if Ferrari is willing to provide true works engines that are on the same level as the engines of [Sebastian] Vettel and [Kimi] Räikkönen.”
A key factor that was highlighted in the article yesterday, was that the reigning world champions Mercedes AMG thwarted Red Bull’s request to become a customer, because of the fear that the latter would have a car superior to their own factory efforts.
Both the Milton Keynes outfit and their junior counterparts in Faenza have boasted solid chassis this season. The core weakness, hindering their pace, was identified to be from the lacklustre Renault power-unit.
A ‘year-old engine’, which journalist Dieter Rencken reported on earlier this month, if supplied by Ferrari for example could give the two teams a superior power supply than the current Renault.
Though in terms of an equal motor with the works squads, if Mercedes-Benz declined Red Bull, purely out of fear of performance, then what would make Maranello want to yield that advantage to a customer too?
And anyway, are Red Bull really in a position to hold the Scuderia or any other supplier to ransom in this manner? Considering the public castigation they orchestrated of Renault, does another engine manufacturer dare operate under their behest?
What this sordid affair in a sense highlights, is the acrimonious nature of Red Bull’s presence in Formula One. If all teams at the forefront of the sport react in the manner that Red Bull have amid poor performance, then we’d no longer have any teams exist.
All the prestigious marques in Formula One, whether it be Ferrari, Williams or McLaren have endured troughs that have extended further than what Red Bull are currently witnessing. At the same time, they’ve achieved greater success.
This saga also further draws attention to the flaws in the current engine regulations. With the desire for more in depth competition, there needs to be a relaxation on the testing restrictions to help the fledgling manufacturers such as Renault and Honda.
However, the overriding point is that the Red Bull brand is failing to contemplate long-term.
Their philosophies of ‘living in the now’ and ‘in it to win it’ is something that will jeopardise their reputation in Formula One, as well as the futures of the hundreds of staff at both teams and the abundance of driver talent Red Bull possesses.
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