Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Red Bull is showing "odd behaviour" by trying to force through a power unit deal.

Red Bull terminated its partnership with Renault a year early despite already having a request for Mercedes power units turned down. With the four-time constructors' champions threatening to quit F1 if it doesn't secure the power unit deal it wants, Lewis Hamilton described Red Bull's attitude as "really odd" and Wolff agrees with his driver.

“I’d like to quote Lewis, it’s an odd behaviour," Wolff told F1i when asked if the potential of Red Bull leaving the sport is concerning. "We have had very, very difficult times from 2010 onwards, Ferrari has had a long spell of difficult years, I think McLaren are not in an easy situation either and Williams the same.

"This is the nature of competition, you have good times and bad times and it is important to not lose sight of that and I think loyalty and building of sustainable relationships is key.

“Losing Red Bull would be definitely not good for Formula One so I hope they will sort their situation out.”

With Bernie Ecclestone working hard to try and help Red Bull secure a deal, Wolff says he understands Ecclestone's need to try and retain a competitive team.

“I think it is Bernie’s main focus to keep all teams on board and make the sport attractive and make it a very close competition. So it’s just normal that he’s trying to sort out a team or help a team which is in difficulty.”

Toto Wolff exclusive interview: Behind the Mercedes dominance

Click here for analysis of the technical updates on display at the Russian Grand Prix

Click here for the F1 drivers' girlfriends gallery

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

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.

Recent Posts

Wolff confirms Russell will stay at Mercedes through 2027

Toto Wolff has all but ended speculation linking Max Verstappen with Mercedes by publicly backing…

51 minutes ago

A wet first win for Frentzen and Jordan

On this day in 1999, a gritty drive and some crafty team work at Magny…

2 hours ago

Austrian GP: Russell rebounds, edges Antonelli in final practice

George Russell put an end to Mercede teammate Kimi Antonelli’s dominance this weekend at the…

2 hours ago

Austrian Grand Prix Free Practice 3 - Results

Full results from Free Practice 3 for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull…

3 hours ago

A quiet moment in the garage for Mathias Lauda and son

Time has a way of moving forward, but in the Mercedes garage, certain things remain…

4 hours ago

‘Money machine in the factory’: Alonso questions F1 upgrade frenzy

Fernando Alonso has expressed his surprise at the relentless development race unfolding in Formula 1,…

5 hours ago