Red Bull confirms interest in Audi partnership

Red Bull advisor Helmult Marko confirms the Austrian company will pull out of Formula One either if it cannot get a competitive power unit or fails to lure Audi into the sport.

The energy drinks giant has experienced a tough start to its 2015 campaign, as engine partner Renault has struggled with both driveability and reliability on its hybrid power unit.

Red Bull’s best results so far are a pair of sixth-place finishes – courtesy of Daniel Ricciardo in Australia and Bahrain. This has led both Marko and company boss Dietrich Mateschitz to issue several quit threats amid growing frustration over current engine regulations.

Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo had already alluded to a potential Red Bull/Audi link in the Italian press last week.

“If we don't have a competitive engine in the near future, then either Audi is coming or we are out,” Marko told BBC Sport.

“There are so many rumours. Officially there was no request or talks. The VW Group first has to sort out who will be the new chief of support, who will run the brand of VW, and when they have sorted all these things maybe then they can think about what they are doing in motorsport.”

The Volkwasgen Group, to which Audi belongs, is undergoing a major senior management overhaul after long-time chairman Ferdinand Piech resigned last month.

The 78-year-old Austrian magnate had repeatedly voiced his opposition against a potential F1 venture, part of it lies in his tumultuous relationship with F1 commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

Red Bull is contracted to say in F1 until at least 2020 while its current partnership with Renault ends at the end of the 2016 season.

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