Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsRed Bull Racing

Mateschitz confirms end of Red Bull partnership with Renault

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has confirmed the team's partnership with Renault will finish at the end of this season.

Relations between the two have been strained since Renault struggled with the new power unit regulations introduced in 2014. In recent months it has become clear Renault is intent on returning to F1 as a full constructor, with a takeover of Lotus in the pipeline.

While Renault's deal with Red Bull and Toro Rosso was due to end after the 2016 season, Mateschitz has now confirmed it will not continue next year.

"The separation from engine partner takes place at the end of the season by mutual consensus," Mateschitz told Speedweek. "It made no more sense to work together."

Red Bull is likely to use Ferrari power units next season after a Mercedes deal was ruled out, while the BBC's Eddie Jordan claims Volkswagen is set to take over the team in 2018.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.