Red Bull is in a hurry to find a new engine supplier
General
- GPblog.com
Red Bull Racing knows since last week that it will have to look for a new engine supplier, if they want to stay in Formula 1 themselves, because Honda has announced that it will leave at the end of 2021. That seems a long way off, but time is pressing for the Austrian team.
Integrating a new engine into a Formula 1 car takes time, possibly a few years. Red Bull has experience with this because a couple of years ago they made the switch from Renault to Honda. First Toro Rosso drove the Honda engines and a year later Red Bull made the switch as well. The first year between Red Bull and Honda was considered to be an intermediate year because both parties still had to get used to each other, so it takes time to integrate the engine properly. Actually, Honda and Red Bull only wanted to harvest the title this year, but unfortunately Mercedes is too strong.
New engine before the end of the year
With a new engine supplier, there is likely to be another lead time needed, making it uncertain whether Red Bull will be there right away in 2022. Because of the new regulations there is some urgency to find a new engine. After all, the team will need the time to build a car that meets the new regulations in 2022. Christian Horner realizes that time is running out for his team. At Servus TV, Red Bull's team boss indicates that the engine must also have sufficient potential.
"We must have clarity before the end of the year. Of course we have to keep all options open. For us it is important that we have sufficient power to be able to challenge Mercedes in the coming years".
Renault seems to be the most logical option at the moment, although the relationship with the French has had a big tick after they broke up. However, Horner has slowly started a charm offensive.