F1 News: Red Bull reissues threat to quit sport after 2015 season

Red Bull have repeated their threat to leave F1 at the end of the 2015 season, claiming they will walk away from the sport unless they are supplied Ferrari engines that match up to the same performance levels as the ones used by Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

The German team is on the lookout for an engine partner for 2016 onwards having decided to part ways with current supplier Renault, with whom they have had a disappointing season far. They have failed to win a single race this season and are currently fourth in the constructors’ championship, behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Williams.

Ferrari is the only team apart from Mercedes to win a race this season, having beaten Mercedes in Malaysia, Hungary and Singapore. After failed talks with Mercedes, Red Bull are looking to partner with Ferrari for next season, but have imposed their own conditions for the deal through.

“Red Bull doesn't want to have customer engines that have 30 to 40 [b]hp less and can be manipulated by the constructor in case of the customer team endangering the works team. Red Bull would like to continue in F1 only if Ferrari is willing to provide true works engines that are on the same level as the engines of [Sebastian] Vettel and [Kimi] Raikkonen,” Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport consultant, said according to a report by Speedweek.

Ferrari currently supplies engines to Manor F1 and Sauber, and also have a technical agreement with Haas F1, who will be entering the sport next season. The Italian outfit reportedly sees no problem in supplying engines to one of their major rivals as well, but it remains to be seen if they will accept the stringent condition imposed by Red Bull.

Ferrari have previously supplied engines to Red Bull before, in 2006, and then to Red Bull Racing’s sister team Toro Rosso. Renault, meanwhile, have confirmed that they will not stay in F1 only as engine suppliers, and may decide to set up their own team.

“We will either exit or run our own team,” CEO Carlos Ghosn told Fox Sports, with a takeover of the existing Lotus team very much a possibility.

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