The only missing link in Red Bull’s title campaign for 2014 is a ‘state of the art’ engine.
That is the view of billionaire team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, who told the Austrian news agency APA on Tuesday that Red Bull’s only alternative to struggling supplier Renault would be for the team to build its own engine. Asked if all of Red Bull’s current problems are in the area of Renault’s new turbo V6 ‘power unit’, Mateschitz answered: “Yes. “I think our car is once again ‘state of the art’, but in order to prove this, it also needs a perfect power unit in terms of hardware and software,” he insisted.
Even in the midst of the reigning quadruple world champion team’s successes, the relationship between Red Bull and Renault has often been strained. Given the problems now, Mateschitz was asked by APA if Red Bull sees any alternatives to working with the French marque. “Probably just to make an engine ourselves,” he answered.
However, Mateschitz said he is confident Red Bull can quickly catch F1’s currently dominant team Mercedes. “I am confident this process will be fast and we can catch up to Mercedes by the third race,” the 69-year-old said ahead of the second race of 2014, Malaysia. “There is no reason to think that this (winning the 2014 title) is not still our goal,” he added.
Mateschitz even tipped Sebastian Vettel – who has shown signs of frustration in 2014 so far – to ride out the storm with Red Bull. “For four and a half of his five years with us, Sebastian has had a car with which he can win,” he said. “He has more than enough character, professionalism and loyalty to overcome this phase together with the team.”
