(Clement Marin - DPPI for Renault Sport F1)
Reigning world champions Red Bull Racing are growing increasingly impatient with engine supplier Renault, that is the claim from a report in Germany's Bild newspaper.
According to the report Red Bull Motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko has stated that the new Renault power unit has not performed as the Milton Keynes based team had expected since the start of winter testing.
In an interview with Bild, Marko claims that Red Bull's improved performance at the Malaysian Grand Prix was as a result of a 'crisis meeting' with Renault at their French HQ in Viry. The meeting was also attended by senior management from Toro Rosso. According to reports the new 1.6 litre Renault power unit is 80 horsepower down on the Mercedes power unit and that this along with other issues relating to the RB10 have hampered Red Bull's progress this season.
Marko said:
'If there is no noticeable improvement in two or three months, we will definitely be talking about an alternative'
When Red Bull Racing bought Jaguar at the end of the 2004 Formula One season they decided that for 2005 they would continue to use Ford Cosworth engine's however for 2006 they switched to Ferrari engine's after only one season with the Italian manufacturer the team negotiated a deal to pass the Ferrari contract on to their sister team Toro Rosso while Red Bull switched to Renault power.
Since 2007, the Renault/Red Bull combination has delivered the Milton Keynes outfit four driver's and constructors championships from 2010 - 2013 and for 2014 it was decided that Toro Rosso would follow the lead of their sister team by securing a engine deal with Renault.
We will just have to wait and see what happens with the reigning world champions and Renault. The Milton Keynes based team head into this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix in 6th place in the Constructors championship, 53 point's behind leaders Mercedes.
©Ben Johnston 2014
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