Red Bull eyeing up independent engine supplier

Red Bull Racing's Dr Helmut Marko has played down early connections between the Austrian team and VW-associated brands that are interested in joining the Formula 1 grid in the future, despite a top engine being the only missing component for Red Bull to take the fight to Mercedes and Ferrari. 

"From a technical point of view, the chassis is at a very high level compared to Ferrari and Mercedes," said Marko when talking to Hungary's Welt newspaper. "Our engine partner Renault is making continuous progress, which means that Red Bull will win one or two races on its own strength this year."

Red Bull face a difficult and somewhat awkward situation with its driver, Max Verstappen, who has reportedly been drawn to a switch to Ferrari, despite being tied to Red Bull until 2019.

"The bottom line is that Max ranks among the best drivers in the world," said Marko. "How he will react under the pressure of the world championship is harder to judge. What we have seen from his five technical failures this year is that he absolutely wants to win everything and has not enough discipline for the negative events. But he will learn that."

Currently, it would be a logical choice for Red Bull to start talks with the likes of Porsche - a VW brand that is reportedly interested in joining F1 post 2020 when the series will again see a change in engine rules. 

Marko contrasted this idea: "For us it is currently more important that independent engine manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Cosworth or Illien are present in the negotiations. What we see with Honda is that even with the highest financial and personnel expenditure, it is not possible to have success with these very complex engine regulations."

Chris Soulsby