Enlarge /. Red Bull will take control of its own engine development next year as soon as Honda leaves the sport. But could we soon see Porsche badges on the cars? The rumors won’t stop swirling.
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Although we only drive two races, this year’s Formula 1 season is already developing to be the most competitive in years. Thanks to the resurgent Red Bull Racing, Mercedes-AMG has a real battle on its hands for the first time since the introduction of hybrid drives in 2014.
Red Bull has been partnering with Honda for the last year and the Japanese OEM has pulled out all the stops to leave the sport with a little glory. From next year Red Bull will take over the engine program from Honda and develop its own engines à la Mercedes-AMG, Ferrari and Alpine. But could we see the energy drink team partner with Porsche?
Rumors that the Volkswagen Group will enter Formula 1 either through its Porsche or Audi brands are almost omnipresent in sport. Both Porsche and Audi have scaled back their factory racing efforts due to Dieselgate and the pandemic, although both companies plan to return to endurance racing at Le Mans and here in the US by 2023.
VW Group representatives have participated in discussions about future rules for F1 engines, even though none of the company’s brands are involved in the sport. At the end of March, Audi flatly rejected plans to enter Formula 1 for reasons of cost. However, the CEO of Porsche was more cautiously optimistic and told Car that participation was possible, but that “the regulations must be changed so that Porsche can largely identify with the new environment.” -friendly priorities. “
Red Bull has said in the past that “nothing is fixed”. But the rumor mill will go a step further, following comments made in a press conference on Friday at the Portuguese Grand Prix this weekend. This time it was the Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff who threw some fuel into the fire.
Enlarge /. Toto Wolff (L), Executive Director of the Mercedes GP, Christian Horner (M), Red Bull Racing Team Principal, and Zak Brown (R), Chief Executive Officer of McLaren, speak at Autodromo during practice before the F1 Grand Prix of Portugal the press conference of the Team Principals Internacional Do Algarve on April 30, 2021 in Portimao, Portugal.
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“I think the right strategic steps, as far as I can see, were taken by Red Bull,” said Wolff. “I think they are doing two lanes with their own power unit and maybe a new OEM, and that is certainly smart, and the agreement that Honda made on the intellectual property transfer is also wise. And that is clear. ” You’re going to hire English engineers because it is [the engine program] in the UK and there aren’t many companies likely to be able to provide these engineers. So absolutely understood what the strategy is. “
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Later in the press conference, the Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner, was asked whether the team’s setup offered a unique level of flexibility with regard to the involvement of an OEM as an engine partner.
Red Bull could keep it all in-house and label the engine as Red Bull, or it could partner with an OEM who would simply add the license plate (and budget) to the engine range. Or an OEM can participate partially or fully in the engineering and development.
“It’s a big challenge, but it’s an exciting challenge that we fully accept,” said Horner. “I think apart from Ferrari we are the only team that produces chassis and engines in-house and has a fully integrated solution between the two technical teams. That is especially exciting and attractive. We are putting together an exceptionally talented group of people. And you know, we are only at the beginning of this journey. “
But Horner was still eager to add the brand of a new auto company to the sport.
“With regard to how the engine will be marked at that time, [it] is clearly designed to be a Red Bull engine, “said Horner.” That’s a commitment and a design group we’re bringing together to focus on the new regulations. We effectively have a soft landing thanks to the IP usage that we have agreed in principle with Honda. So these are exciting times. And I think it puts Red Bull in a really unique situation to have everything on one campus under one roof and to really use these synergies. And especially in a world with limited costs, where cost restrictions may also apply to the powertrain, this is achievable for companies like ours. “
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