Breaking news
Formula 1
Renault gives Red Bull May deadline for Honda engine decision
Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul says he will give Red Bull a May deadline for a decision over its 2019 Formula 1 engine supply, respecting the FIA regulation on the subject.
Adam Cooper
Edited: Feb 27, 2018, 1:06 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Red Bull's current contract with Renault only covers the 2018 season, and the team is keeping a close watch on how Honda performs with sister team Toro Rosso.
If Red Bull does eventually decide to go with the Japanese manufacturer, Renault will only have McLaren as a customer next season.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner confirmed in Barcelona that the team is keeping its options open.
"All things are open for 2019 onwards," he said. "We will play close attention to how things develop at Toro Rosso, but there are no preconceptions as we head into the season."
However, Renault is not willing to wait for Red Bull to make its mind up, and wants the team to comply with Appendix 9 of the FIA's F1 Sporting Regulations.
That covers engine supply in some detail, including the obligation of manufacturers to supply a minimum number of teams if required.
It notes that "before 15 May (or such other date as agreed in writing between all the Power Unit Manufacturers and the FIA) of the season preceding that in which such power units are to be supplied, with the list of teams (clearly identifying the appointed "works/factory" team, if any) to which a supply agreement has been concluded for the given Championship season."
Although that requirement is flexible – McLaren's switch to Renault and Toro Rosso's move to Honda came much later last year – Renault sees it as a logical deadline for a Red Bull decision.
"We are not going to hang around forever," Abiteboul said when asked by Motorsport.com. "I know what Christian is referring to when he says that he has options.
"He's absolutely right. Like him I read contracts, and I know the obligation that we have towards the sport.
"There is one thing that is clear, and that is planning. And there will be a deadline for Red Bull Racing to define what they want for the future. It's available, it's in the Sporting Regulations.
"I believe that by the end of May there needs to be some clarity as to who is supplying which team – which supplier is supplying which customer team. As far as we are concerned, that will be the deadline."
Abiteboul confirmed that Red Bull only had to commit to Renault by that date, and not necessarily finalise details of a new contract.
"I guess that will be the baseline for any discussion, and then there are still a number of specific services that they want to have, do they want to have their own petroleum company, do they want to have specific dyno test programme? And so on and so forth.
"The fact that we have that framework in the regs will not prevent any more bespoke services, or commercial discussion, between our two companies."
Asked about the financial impact on Renault of dropping back to a single customer for 2019 he joked: "We have always said that being an engine supplier is a very bad business."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Bottas leads Vandoorne on second morning of Barcelona test
Next article Renault considering strategic grid penalties
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Apr 10, 2024
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Latest news
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 16 h
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 16 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
18 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
20 h
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe