Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsRed Bull Racing

Mateschitz sets October deadline for Red Bull

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz says he needs to finalise a power unit deal by the end of October or will quit F1.

Mateschitz has been threatening to leave the sport as he seeks a competitive power unit having ended Red Bull's partnership with Renault. Mercedes turned down the opportunity to supply Red Bull, with the team now in talks with Ferrari.

With the situation dragging on and the team keen to finalise its plans for its 2016 car should it remain in the sport, Mateschitz says he needs to complete any deal within the next four weeks.

"We strive to get motors, but we get none - at least not the one we want," Mateschitz told Speedweek magazine. "The prerequisite for moving on is competitive engines."

Asked for a deadline to finalise a power unit deal, Mateschitz replied: "Sometime in late October."

Christian Horner recently described Red Bull and Toro Rosso as being in a "critical situation" regarding power unit supply.

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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.