Tension high as Red Bull and Renault head for divorce
The tension between Red Bull's Christian Horner and Renault's Cyril Abiteboul was palpable on Friday, as the warring F1 partners appeared headed for divorce.
Horner said Frenchman Abiteboul, who earlier this week accused Adrian Newey of telling "lies", was "brave" to be seated right alongside him in the official FIA press conference.
Franz Tost, the boss of Red Bull's second team Toro Rosso, confirmed media reports that the Faenza based team is in discussions about being acquired by Renault.
"I think this would be a fantastic opportunity to take the next step forward," Austrian Tost said.
Horner replied: "Well, it sounds as though Franz wants to sell his team to Cyril, and then we'd need an engine."
Tempers overflowed two weeks ago in Melbourne, when Red Bull repeatedly accused Renault of taking a "retrograde" step over the winter.
Abiteboul admitted Red Bull's harsh and public criticism had not been met by "a lot of enthusiasm" among those on the Renault board.
He said Renault is indeed rethinking its approach to the sport, including the option of "getting out of formula one" altogether, "if it is that bad for our reputation".
"First of all I don't think we are miles away and doing that bad," said Abiteboul. "We think there is light at the end of the tunnel, and the tunnel may not be as long as some people think."
As for buying Toro Rosso, Abiteboul admitted it is a possibility, while representatives for Force India and Lotus denied there are any similar talks taking place with Renault.
"Lotus isn't for sale," said the Enstone team's chief executive Matthew Carter said, while Bob Fernley, of Force India, confirmed that the Silverstone based team also has a contract with Mercedes through 2020.
So if Toro Rosso does become 'Renault', where would that leave Red Bull? Horner denied reports the energy drink company is making plans to build its own engine.
He said concerted efforts at Milton-Keynes, and now working hand-in-hand with engine specialists Mario Illien and Ilmor, is simply to help Renault.
But a combative Abiteboul, turning to an equally combative Horner, said: "I'm not sure Christian will confirm that there was a lot of Red Bull in the engine in Melbourne."
Indeed, Horner insists Renault is struggling badly, as the thought of the long straights in China and Bahrain next month is nothing short of "depressing".
"It's getting better -- so Cyril keeps telling us," said the Briton.
Horner played down Dr Helmut Marko's threat that Red Bull might quit the sport in protest of the rules, but he also suggested that the 2010-2013 world champions may be forced out.
"We could find ourselves without an engine supplier. We could find ourselves forced out of the sport," he said.
And as for Abiteboul's fiery accusation that Red Bull designer Newey tells "lies", the Frenchman insisted his comments were taken out of context, "just like Helmut's were".
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I don’t blame them for pulling out. If you are an engine supply and your not allowed to fix the design flaws in the motor they are essentially forcing you to have a bad reputation. If the rules don’t change for everyone pull out now. Leave Red Bull and TR without a motor all together. Then F1 will at best have a 4 maybe a 6 car race.
Then no one will come and watch. It is so overpriced, so over regulated the thrill of new designs and concepts are all but gone. Look at what Nissan is doing in Daytona prototype with there front wheel drive and deltawing car. That is the way F1 should go; new ideas new concepts for the future. Let the engineers and designers use there imagination and have fun.
F1 is more than just Boring. How many cars were passed on track after the first lap of there last race? I counted 4. When you have only 11 cars that finish the race, most being more than a lap behind you have a something that is not worth the time to watch. This spot is over regulated. Not only in how much fuel can you use but also when you can use it. “ You tried to pass a car and used too much fuel for 4.5 seconds so you are disqualified”
Almost no real world testing and you find out your engine is carp and now you’re not allowed to fix the problem. Bernie Cobblestone dose not want one where the new technologies can be used. If you want to see some racing watch the world rally championship Irish road racing, or the Isle of Man TT. These are true races where they go all out; man and machine from start to finish.
F1 has evolved in a way that I don’t appreciate, maybe because I’m from the former generation. But if you say that performances and ideas need to be restricted, then you might as well create a one-make series. Formula 1 must remain Formula 1, not a Bernie Cobblestone money making machine.
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