Ferrari has reportedly led a multi-team protest against Red Bull to stop the Austrian outfit from gaining an ‘unfair’ advantage by becoming a power unit supplier.
Red Bull has relied on other teams for its power units till now, despite having been in the sport for a while.
The team is now on the verge of moving to its own power unit source, but wants the FIA to recognise it as a “new power unit supplier”.
This will grant them more time for bench tests in comparison to their existing competitors.
With pressure coming in from the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Audi to stop Red Bull from gaining this advantage, the FIA has reportedly turned down the sports-drink company’s request.
Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Ferrari president John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna used the political weight of Ferrari to ensure that Red Bull did not get its way.
The teams worked on the premise that although Red Bull Powertrains only came into existence in 2022, the team has already accrued plenty of data and expertise over almost two decades in the sport.
Treating it as a new entity, therefore, would not be the logical or fair conclusion.
Red Bull has also made some big name backroom recruitments, having poached the likes of Ben Hodgkinson and five other senior engineers from Mercedes.
Red Bull Powertrains will run as Red Bull Ford Powertrains starting 2026 and the teams feel things would have been different had Ford’s power unit been used.
However, Red Bull already has extensive knowledge of hybrid and electrification in F1 and it is believed they are at par with their competition.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner spoke about recent developments.
“We’ve got 150 weeks left before we have an engine driving out of a pit lane for the first time in the back of a Red Bull car,” Horner said.
“So that focuses the mind, it’s a big challenge. It’s a ballsy undertaking, to think that an independent team can take on those type of manufacturers.
“But again, it comes down to the same culture, the same approach that we’ve had to going racing on the chassis side, and ultimately having everything under one roof and the benefits that brings long-term is significant.
“So that’s taking quite a bit of my time and attention just to make sure that we’re hitting our targets in that area.”
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