Austrian help for Red Bull Racing with the acquisition of Honda engines?
Since Honda’s announced departure from Formula 1, the rumour mill has been running at full speed. Which engines will be behind the Red Bull from 2022 onwards? Back to Renault, your own engine or something else?
Honda and Red Bull Racing entered into their partnership in 2019, after Toro Rosso and Honda had a good partnership in 2018. However, after victories in 2019 and 2020 for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri, Honda believes it has been enough. At the end of 2021, the plug will be pulled on the F1 project.
What should Red Bull do now?
Red Bull has a problem with that, however, because which engine is to get into Max Verstappen’s car now. The return to Renault seems the most obvious choice for the remaining engine suppliers. Ferrari and Mercedes have many more customers and will not be so quick to supply a competitor. Renault cannot do otherwise, because the rules state that the supplier must supply an engine with the fewest customers.
However, according to Motorsport.it, there are more options. Red Bull Racing itself would like to take over Honda’s project. The engine is not allowed to be further developed, so Red Bull could take over. However, it costs a lot of money and the question is whether this will be recovered in the short term?
Aid from Austria
There is also talk of AVL. The company from Austria that supplies test benches for Formula 1 engines has been mentioned more and more lately as a possible candidate to take on that role in order to manage the Honda team, but Motorsport.it does report that there are also many sources against this rumour.
The latter is an unlikely option at all, as the chances of a new engine supplier stepping in at the moment are virtually nil. Honda’s project has shown how much it costs to become competitive and not yet be able to compete for the title. Rumours about Audi or another name within the Volkswagen group therefore do not see the Italian medium as a realistic option.
Source: fpblog.com gpfans.com
