FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA PIRELLI 2017: RACE ***SPOILERS***

Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko has once again suggested the team will leave Formula 1 if they continue to be "blackmailed" over the engine rules.

Red Bull have struggled to keep up with Ferrari and Mercedes this season partly due to their Renault-powered, TAG Heuer branded engine being way off the pace.

And while new bosses Liberty Media are looking at ways to improve the sport from 2020 and beyond, Marko wants to see a "simple" idea implemented or else Red Bull could well withdraw from the World Championship.

"The idea is very simple. We want an engine that is 1000hp, with a single standard KERS and battery, and development does not cost more than 15-20 million," Marko told El Confidencial.

"They should have sound, and allow the driver to make the difference. And independent companies like Ilmor and Cosworth should be able to enter so that we or McLaren can use them if we want."

Marko was then asked whether Red Bull could pull out from Formula 1 altogether.

"Yes," he said, "because last year Mercedes would not give us an engine, neither would Ferrari, and Renault was only forced by Ecclestone to give us one.

"We want to have an equal situation where we are not blackmailed by a manufacturer."

source: Marko threatens Red Bull exit over engine rules | PlanetF1 : PlanetF1

 

Understandable and not at all unreasonable. Of course the Red Bull team could build an engine with one of the suppliers they named, assuming they want to actually work with Red Bull to do so. This will be fun in the future LOL

 

They have the money for it and I don't see why they have not started this back when they(RB) were throwing Renualt under the bus.

 

I like his requirements. Thats what the engines should be.

 

+1 agree. I am not a Marko fan but this makes sense.

 

Your welcome

 

IMO, F1 would be poorer if Red Bull was to pull out of it.

Not only because they are 2 teams bringing valuable credit to the championship, but they also have a strong engineering base, and build a staircase for new talented drivers to reach the top on F1.

Red Bull has been a strong contender for years, and allowed new talents like Vettel, Webber, Ricciardo or Vestappen to come to the fore, and given a chance to many more.

Not many teams can say as much.

 

Marko must be thinking that Mercedes or Ferrari get their engines for free. They had to spend tons of cash to get where they are, while for years Red Bull enjoyed free engines and could spend their huge budget only in the chassis, making them look smarter than the rest. Now their engine supplier is not good: hey STFU and keep your head down, you can´t always win. If the Renault engine was the best, Marko wouldn´t have any problem at all with the current regulations.

Having said that, I agree that cheaper engines is a must for F1. But I´m not thinking in Red Bull, but in Force India or Sauber.

 

Red Bull have never enjoyed free engines, they have to pay Renault for them. Red Bull and Renault are not in a McLaren and Honda arrangement, where Honda is the main sponsor.

Pete

 

Yes, you´re right, the engines were not free, I think they had to pay 30% of Renault´s budget, IIRC. But having a 70% disccount is not a bad thing, and they had (Renault owned) Infiniti sponsorship, so it was a good deal. Also Renault built the engines to suit their chassis until Marko insulted them too much, so they were a de facto factory team.

 

+1 Agree, Red Bull is perhaps the best managed team in the business; Force India is second(please lose the pink livery).

 

Lewis says his tiredness was due to no Drinks Bottle.



MAY 18, 2017

Wolff denies 5kg weight advantage rumours



Toto Wolff has denied that Mercedes slashed 5 kilos of weight from its 2017 car ahead of the recent Spanish grand prix.

Before Barcelona, team figures including Niki Lauda admitted that excessive car weight was one of the areas Mercedes was working on to fight with Ferrari this year.

Then in Spain, as Lewis Hamilton returned to the top step of the podium, there were rumours the triple world champions had managed to slash 5kg of weight in the Barcelona upgrade.

"We tried to improve aerodynamic efficiency and reduce weight, but we're not talking about five kilograms," boss Wolff told Spain's El Mundo Deportivo.

"In formula one it is difficult to make big steps like that -- they are all small. We are working more with grams than kilograms," he added.

Indeed, a tired-looking Hamilton admitted after the race that he is even going without an in-car drink bottle to save weight, despite the increased physical difficulty of racing with the 2017 cars.

"I don't carry drinks in my car to save weight," he revealed. "I was a little bit tired after that one."

 

2017 Spanish Grand Prix: The Best Of Team Radio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwhBl-kLyz4

 

11 pounds???!!! Talk about fake news.......

On second thought, maybe they took lessons from Brumos.... (2009 Rolex 24)