It’s Official, No Mercedes Engines for Red Bull
Giancarlo Perlas September 9, 2015
News came that the members of the board of Mercedes decided against supplying engines to their Formula One rival, Red Bull. This was after members of the luxury automaker’s F1 team strongly opposed the idea.
According to Autosport, Red Bull will be breaking its ties with Renault prematurely. The F1 team based on the energy drink brand recently submitted a request for the early termination of its engine partnership with the France-based automaker, making this year their last collaboration. The performance issue with the power unit was cited as the reason.
With the clock ticking closer to 2016, Red Bull reportedly approached Mercedes for an engine. Mercedes was initially divided on the idea because of Red Bull’s popularity when it comes to younger audiences and consumers. But just after the Italian Grand Prix, Daimler CEO Dr. Dieter Zetsche finally laid the matter to rest by declining further negotiations.
The source said the reasoning behind the decision was that Mercedes considers Red Bull as a formidable adversary due to its resources. Giving the latter a better engine would further make it pose a serious threat to the current Constructors Champion’s bid to another world title.
Lewis Hamilton was particularly vocal in his opposition with the subject. He stated that if Mercedes is serious in winning another world championship, the move will serve as a deterrent. In his words, “It’s like giving Ferrari our (Mercedes) engines.”
A Tough but Wise Decision for Mercedes
Mercedes is on the right track on this one. Although there are certainly opportunities thrown away here, going for the deal would come at the cost of its F1 standings. It’s like handing more bullets to your enemy, which will end up causing more harm than good. Moreover, just imagine how the sponsors of the brand’s F1 team would react if Red Bull suddenly starts gaining significant advantage against Mercedes because of the better engines.
Overall, the resulting scenario would be embarrassing for Mercedes if it went on a different path and its engine customer starts beating it in the game.
