Red Bull mechanic remembers "chaos every week" with "old engine supplier"

Since the 2019 Formula 1 season, Red Bull Racing have been using Honda-powered engines, resulting in multiple Drivers' and Constructors' Championship titles. But before then, there were plenty of issues with their old engine manufacturer, Renault. In a partnership that lasted 12 years, the relationship deteriorated quickly, as explained by mechanic Calum Nicholas.

Red Bull and Renault first partnered up in 2007, bringing the French engines to the Austrian team. Just four seasons later, their first titles were won as a pair, taking the Drivers' and the Constructors' Champion titles in 2010. They went on to seal both titles in the next three consecutive seasons, a force to be reckoned with.

However, when the turbo-hybrid engines came into the sport in 2014, Renault took a huge step back, straining the relationship. Public criticism from team principal Christian Horner then came as the French team continued to struggle, leading to the relationship between him and then-Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul to sour very quickly. On-track results continued to be poor, further impacting a poor relationship, and resulting in the split after the 2018 season.

Nicholas, the Senior Engine Technician for Red Bull, part of the Austrian team since 2015, spoke on the DrivenByUS podcast about the difficulty he and the rest of the pit crew had with the struggling Renault power units near the end of the partnership: "Back when we were with our old engine supplier [Renault], it seemed like it was chaos every week. There was always something, there was always a situation at some point through the weekend where both car crews would be working on one car to get it out. That is something where the team has always been really strong, getting the job done in tight timeframes is something we are quite good at."

Now, since 2019, Red Bull have moved to Honda engines, with the Japanese manufacturers leading Red Bull to four drivers' titles and two constructors' titles, with far more reliability and pace from their engines helping them to glory.

But that is not the only adversity that the crew at the Austrian team have had to deal with, as Nicholas continues to talk glowingly about the stunning work done by the mechanics to fix things in no time at all: "I wasn't on the crew at the time, but the crew that repaired Max Verstappen's car after he ventured into the barrier on the way to the grid in Hungary in 2019. That was a monumental effort. So there's always going to be instances like that where you have to overcome adversity and get the job done."

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