Jonnycraig wrote:
Which was exactly what I said, that you edited down for some strange reason
. Red Bull aren't dominating F1 anymore though and won't be able to for quite some time so Mateschitz is in the position of having to either pump the thick end of £1bn into RB & TR over the next few years to stand still, or try to get out.
It's hardly a secret that Toro Rosso have been on the market for years now without finding a buyer.
How many mega wealthy people are out there looking to buy a middle of the road F1 team, let alone one like Red Bull on a €280m yearly budget, especially with the (important to state unanimously agreed) engine token system acting as a barrier to advancement.
Why is the token system acting as a barrier? It's clearly working for Ferrari. And they have more in the pipeline too.
Re Red Bulls competitiveness. The issue for Red Bull is not the engine regs, but that Renault cannot compete currently.
Had it been the engine regs, Ferrari would not be near matching Mercedes in terms of output.
They either need to help Renault, which is what appears to be happening, or they need to find a partner in the same way McLaren did.
Finding a partner at this stage would take at least 2 seasons before anything tangible gets in the back of the Red Bull.
Audi/VW may be interested, but this has been bandied about for years now with nothing to show.
Ferrari nor Mercedes will be remotely interested in giving engines to a major competitor, but if it means Red Bull quit their public denigration of the rules and being so vocal against it....perhaps one of those will be more open to a deal.
But it does not really help the Red Bull cause to consistently blame Renault. I get the frustration, but will a future supplier be forthcoming under those circustances? When the team wins it's Newey/Aero prowess....when they lose....it's Renault.
Not at all kosher however true it may be. The spark plug saga comes to mind....And Renault were rightly peeved when the finger was pointed at them.
They developed the Exhaust blowing ability at Red Bulls behest, and the car was fast because of it...but a part failed during the ignition retardation and boom....Renault to blame.
I wonder how much of todays issues are as a result of demands placed on Renault by Red Bull. But this is very far from being the symbiotic relationship of 2010-13.
On twitter, There was a photo of Marko and Horner grilling Taffin...Alan Cooper commented that it was directly after the engine went on Ricciardo's car. It was also allegedly very heated....
I wonder if Red Bull have a back up strategy, other than the political avenue. Because if it boils down to a political struggle, I think the resurgence of Ferrari and their PU will shoot down anything Red Bull have in their defence.
And both Ferrari and Mercedes have alot of ammo being suppliers....
