Red Bull could pull out of F1 due to "political influence" issues in the sport

Owner of Red Bull Racing Dieter Mateschitz (R)

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has criticized the manner in which Formula One is being run and handled, and has gone on record to state that his company could quit the sport if it ceases to meet his expectations.

The public statement comes after Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified hours after securing second in the recent Australian Grand Prix, over an alleged breach of the newly incorporated fuel regulation.

Mateschitz made these comments to Austrian newspaper Kurier, when asked about the circumstances under which he might decide to end his involvement in F1.

He said, “The question is not so much whether it makes economic sense but the reasons would be to do with sportsmanship, political influence, and so on. In these issues there is a clear limit to what we can accept.”

He was then asked if the “acceptable limit” was violated with the disqualification.

Mateschitz said, “The team has lodged a protest. The fuel-flow sensor, which was given to the teams by the federation, gave divergent readings and it is inaccurate. We can prove the exact amount of fuel flow and this was always within the limits.”

Mateschitz also lambasted the new format of F1, both in terms of the use of the fuel limit and in the sound produced by the turbo hybrid engines.

“You have to make F1 like it used to be – the top discipline of motorsports,” he said.

“F1 is not there to set new records in fuel consumption, nor to make it possible to have a whispered conversation during a race.

“It is absurd to race a lap seconds slower than last year. GP2 partially provides more racing and fighting and almost equal lap times as F1 with a small fraction of the budget.”

Red Bull’s four-year dominance in F1 has been challenged with the new rules in place, which has decreased the effect of aerodynamics – in which the team excelled – and brought back engine performance as a differentiator.

Red Bull’s engine partner, Renault, is significantly behind Mercedes in both outright power and fuel efficiency.

However, the owner is confident that they will be back competing sooner rather than later.

He said, “The work with Renault continues around the clock,” he said. “In the next two or three weeks we will make a big step and reduce the gap to Mercedes. There are 18 races still to go. We will be back.”