Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost says time is running out for his team to know which power unit it will use in 2016 if Red Bull remains in F1.
Red Bull has threatened to quit the sport if it does not receive a competitive power unit, having already severed ties with Renault and seen Mercedes opt to supply Manor. While Tost says Ferrari is the most likely supplier to his team in 2016, he told F1i there are other talks ongoing at the same time.
“A high percentage to Ferrari because as you know we worked with them for many, many years,” Tost said. “We have a good relationship with Ferrari and we will see where we end up. Nevertheless we are talking also to others, but we will see.”
Asked if Honda is an option for the team or if a switch to an even less competitive engine could be damaging, Tost replied: “First we must look that we have a competitive car because we rely on sponsors and we have a responsibility to show good performance for our partners.
“What the outcome will be, which engine we will use next year we will see soon. We must decide soon because otherwise time is running away from a design point of view.”
When asked for a deadline for when Toro Rosso needs to finalise its power unit supply, Tost said: “If you ask the designers it’s always yesterday!
“But unfortunately it’s not the case but nevertheless if we want to be in Melbourne on the starting grid we must soon find out the position.”
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