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Prost: "Not sure if relation between Red Bull and Renault can be repaired"

Published on 12 Oct 2015 11:29
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By: Danny Sosef

Alain Prost is not sure the damaged relationship between Renault and Red Bull can be repaired. Red Bull, and its sister team Toro Rosso, risk being left without a power unit to use in 2016, after Mercedes and Ferrari ruled out jumping to the rescue. And it is clear that officials of the energy drink company are not prepared to beg.

"It is an honour that we seem to be considered such a threat by our competitors," Dr Helmut Marko told the German newspaper Bild.

Asked what the current situation is at the chequered flag at Sochi, the Austrian added: "We have no engine. Still not. And it is not in our plan for Christian (Horner) and I to push the cars. "Our chassis is good, but not so good that we can race without an engine."

And so F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, known in the past for putting together miracle deals, is now involved. In fact, the 84-year-old declared at Sochi that the Red Bull crisis is now "sorted".

"Bernie is trying to do what he can do," Mercedes' team chairman Niki Lauda told the German broadcaster Sky. "It would be madness if Red Bull would leave formula one like this. The damage (to F1) would be too great, so somehow it has to be prevented."

But that does not mean Mercedes is going to change its mind about supplying Red Bull next year. Indeed, there are rumours the German marque has already started making approaches to some of Red Bull's potentially out-of-work top engineers.

And Toto Wolff was spotted in conversation at Sochi with Toro Rosso sensation Max Verstappen's father Jos as well as his manager, with 18-year-old Max having already referred to the possibility of racing a 'third car' in 2016.

"I've known 'crazy' Jos for so many years," Wolff told F1's official website. "So we just had a nice talk over coffee."

Red Bull's last chance of survival now might be to patch up its shattered relationship with current engine partner Renault.

But the French carmaker's F1 ambassador Prost is not sure that is possible.

"A lot of damage has been done and I don't know if it can be repaired," the F1 legend told French broadcaster Canal Plus.

"The facts are that Dietrich Mateschitz announced that he does not want to continue with Renault, and Carlos Ghosn said that Renault will not remain in F1 only as an engine supplier.

"From there, I don't really see how the situation could evolve favourably (for Red Bull)," Prost added.

F1 News Max Verstappen Renault Ferrari Mercedes

Replies (5)

calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
I cant imagine that Mercedes would pick Verstappen over e.g Wehrlein, a guy they already have strong ties and a good working relation with in DTM. It feels like it was just like Wolff said: just idle chatting. Im getting more and more nervous of as to how Red Bull is going to slither out of this mess. But I can however imagine them (and many other teams) drooling over the chance to recruit Newey. Not too sure he'll remain in F1 next year though, he was pretty distant as it was this year.
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- Oct 12 2015 - 15:00
Trav

Posts: 2
Here’s my prediction on how it will end....

Renault will buy Redbull and not buy Lotus. Deal is probably currently being negotiated and I bet almost complete.. As Bernie said "Everything's being sorted out so I wouldn't worry about it. I think it's all been cleared up now. It's being cleared up, whatever they are going to have.”

From each of the parties standpoint…

Redbull exits formula 1 (which they want)
Redbull team will save huge amount of redundancies and write-offs
Redbull will save huge amount of work to close business
Redbull are likely to walk away with $100+ million cash payment from Renault
Horner will depart team

Renault gets the a great team and aero package
Renault was going to spend $70m + buying a bankrupt team. They will save this. So extra cost to buy Redbull will be minor
Renault engine already in Redbull cars so no big change. If they buy lotus , a massive change
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- Oct 12 2015 - 20:45
- khasmir
  
  Posts: 893
  Interesting view. Who knows? Seems like anything goes these days in F1 ;)
  But that would most likely be the end for Lotus...
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  Oct 14 2015 - 18:27
scf1fan

Posts: 58
"It is an honour that we seem to be considered such a threat by our competitors," Dr Helmut Marko told the German newspaper Bild.
.
I hear Lance Armstrong is available . . . And he can actually run (err, pedal) on Red Bull . . . Depending on what's really in it . . . (Not sure how the rule book would look at such a PU (pedaler unit) though. ;-)
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I think what Mr. Marko is looking for is called "gallows" humor. All kidding aside, we might like to call this a comedy of errors on the part of the Red Bull management, but I think of it more like a tragedy of egos! Mr. Marko and Mateschitz have no right to take advantage of the work that MB and Ferrari have accomplished just because they are unhappy with their PU supplier. If Red Bull really wanted to be true great in this era of F1 they would have already been looking at building their own PUs. (As it is, they should at least have been negotiating in good faith with the other PU manufacturers as they reached this point. And not have burned their bridges so quickly.)
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- Oct 13 2015 - 04:31
- khasmir
  
  Posts: 893
  True, RB should have made sure that they had a new supplier before they blew up the deal with Renault. Problem is, as long as the deal was there, no other suppliers wanted to interfere with that. Seems like they gambled and lost, maybe being bought by Renault was plan B all along...
  Building your own F1 PU is nearly impossible these days without a big manufacturer to bear the costs and unfortunately there is not much interest atm.
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  Oct 14 2015 - 18:35