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Rose Monday 2021 will be an important date for Red Bull in the future, similar to the 4th of July in the US, the holiday of independence.
The reason: “As of today, February 15, 2021, our engine program will officially begin,” says Motorsport Chief Advisor Helmut Marko. SPORT1. Marko: “From now on we are going to fully accelerate.” The room at the Red Bull factory site in Milton Keynes has yet to be completed, “but that will be done in the next few weeks.” (Formula 1 racing calendar 2021)
There is a reason for that. Last week, the Formula 1 commission approved the engine freeze from 2022. Media: Further development may not be possible after this season. This allows Red Bull to run the Honda engine on its own after the Japanese pulled out of Formula 1 at the end of the year. “Freezing was the condition. Otherwise, we would not have touched the ambitious project,” Marko said.
Red Bull: 100 employees in the engine department
Red Bull and Noch-Motorpartner Honda will work in parallel from now on. The Japanese are further developing the hybrid unit for 2021 within the scope of options set out in the regulations (an update) and then handing it over to Red Bull.
By the end of the year, Red Bull intends to employ 100 people in its own engine department called “Red Bull Powertrains.” “We will take control of some people from Honda, otherwise it is common in the industry to push people away from the competition,” Marko emphasizes. To do this, talks are held behind the scenes with competent technicians from Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari.
Former Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell, who is considered the spiritual father of the Silver Arrows domain, is not on the list. Background: Cowell announced his retirement last season.
Illien to Red Bull? “Nothing has been decided yet”
On the other hand, one of his predecessors was different: the Swiss Mario Illien, who had a considerable participation in the two world titles with Mika Häkkinen in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren. Marko says: “Nothing has been decided yet. But I don’t think it is out of the question when it comes to support, for example in single cylinder dyno tests.” They are still available at Illien-Ilmor Firm. (All Formula 1 races on LIVETICKER)
The project is initially designed for three to five years. “It depends on when the FIA sets the new engine regulations and possibly presents them. So before 2025,” Marco explains. Red Bull also wants to be prepared for the new era of engines. “We are open to partners, but we don’t have one yet,” says the Austrian.
At the scene, it is an open secret that it is most likely a partnership with Porsche. “But even without a partner, we want to be able to build a completely new engine ourselves. Then the car would be called Red Bull-Red Bull. It is important that due to the need for many standardized parts, there is not much variation between the Manufacturers of engines with a 20 hp difference would be within reach, but it should not be that an engine can go back to being as superior as Mercedes’ has been since hybrid regulations came into force in 2014, ”said Marko.
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As an engine manufacturer, Red Bull would also offer its own engine for sale to other teams under the new regulations, thus recouping some of the large additional costs. Currently, customer teams pay manufacturers between € 10 million and € 18 million per year for drive units.
“Our additional costs are kept within reasonable limits. Of course we invest a lot, but in the end we may not have to spend much more per year than we spend as a client team,” calculates Marko.
One thing is certain for him: “February 15 is very positive for us. It marks the next step in our involvement in Formula 1.”
