Red Bull secured its future in sport beyond 2021 by agreeing on a contract with the outgoing engine manufacturer Honda to use its technology to build its own engines until 2025 and strengthened the cause of the Austrian team. Red Bull advisor Dr. However, Helmut Marko stated that external help after 2025 could not be ruled out.
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The main reason Red Bull wanted to freeze engine development was because they couldn’t find any help from any of the current teams on the grid. Mercedes and Ferrari had their hands full and already looked after three and two customer teams respectively. While Alpine, formerly Renault, does not get along very well with Red Bull.
Formula 1 F1. Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna. Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy. Red Bulls Max Verstappen in action during training REUTERS / Guglielmo Mangiapane
So the energy drink team had to take matters into their own hands. You have already founded your own engine department and poached engine manager Ben Hodgkinson from Mercedes. So the master plan is really in full swing.
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The intention would be to make Red Bull self-sufficient by 2025. After that, however, Red Bull is open to reverting to its current engine supplier structure.
Marko holds the door open to bring on board an expert in the form of Audi, who was present at the last meeting of the F1 commission.
Motorsport quoted Marko as saying (translated via Google): “Our plan is to build the engine autonomously for 2025 – commented Marko – if Audi occurs in the meantime, we will check whether a cooperation will be possible.”
However, this topic will take a back seat for the time being when the next race at Portimao is in the spotlight.
Can Red Bull defy Mercedes who are favorites in Portimao?
Max Verstappen might have led Red Bull to a win at Imola, but the team would have wished for a lot more. Especially from Perez, who ended up outside of the points.
Formula 1 F1. Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna. Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy. Red Bulls Max Verstappen and Mercedes Lewis Hamilton in action during the REUTERS / Guglielmo Mangiapane race
As a result, the Milton-Keynes-based team is 7 points behind the Silver Arrows. And while that doesn’t seem like much, it could be worse by the end of the weekend.
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Mercedes is the clear favorite in Portimao, team boss Toto Wolff also believes. He believes his team received a card in Imola that Red Bull cannot use to maximize the result.
However, trust does not necessarily guarantee performance. And from today’s perspective, the performance gap between the two cars is no longer as large as it was last year. Can the team get a surprise in Portimao? Only time can tell.
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