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Austrian team Red Bull Racing confirmed in an official announcement yesterday that they were splitting from engine manufacturers Renault, and talk prior to the official split had suggested the team may move to Mercedes power units. The Mercedes board, however, has decided not to supply engines to the team, however, reports Autosport.com
Dieter Zetsche, the chairman of Daimler and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, is understood to have met with officials at the team over the Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza and terminated further discussions. According to sources, Mercedes say that they have waited a long time to find themselves at the pinnacle of Formula One and do not want to lose the competitive advantage they have.
The German team are frontrunners for the constructors’ and drivers’ championships. Driver Lewis Hamilton leads the standings with 252 points following his win at Monza, with 252 points. Teammate Nico Rosberg, who is his closest competitor, is nearly 130 points behind him with 199, with the Briton strengthening an already insurmountable lead.
Between Hamilton and Rosberg’s strong performances, Mercedes have 451 points – 180 ahead of their closest competitor, Ferrari.
Their soon to be 3-time World Champion driver Lewis Hamilton had said ahead of talks that he was not keen on Mercedes supplying engines to Red Bull. "If we're serious about winning the world championship, probably not,” he said, when asked about the issue.
"Red Bull is a great team, but it's like giving Ferrari our engines. We don't really need it. We are good where we are."
The only option that appears to be left to Red Bull at this point is Ferrari, although they are not known to have made any such offer or initiated any talks with the team so far. Unless a new manufacturer decides to enter the fray, it is not known what the Austrian marque will decide on.
Their junior team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, will also be affected.
