Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsRed Bull Racing

Red Bull and Renault 'may be out of sync'

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Renault Sport Racing managing director Cyril Abiteboul has warned Red Bull and Renault could be "out of sync" with power unit specifications.

Red Bull attempted to end its partnership with Renault last season but was unable to secure a power unit supply from another manufacturer, so instead will carry Renault engines branded as Tag Heuer in 2016.

Helmut Marko recently told Renault it should prioritise Red Bull over its own works team, and Abiteboul says the regulations prevent it from denying a customer from having the works specification.

"Yes it will be the same," Abiteboul said if Renault and Red Bull would have the same engine. "We have a mandatory obligation to do that from a regulation perspective it has to be the same."

However, when asked if there would be any difference in developments, Abiteboul highlighted there is a chance the works team could be running a newer specification of power unit than Red Bull.

"We are doing one development and as soon as they are ready they will be introduced into either car. We still have the engine pool to manage and the Renault and Red Bull team may be out of sync in that respect, but apart from that it is compulsory in the regulations to have the same equipment in the four cars."

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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.