10 February 2023 , 16:12
841
0
The FIA is expected to grant Red Bull only partial status as a new Formula 1 power unit manufacturer.
The team has heavily invested in its powertrains division – a project started under the impression that Honda were bowing out of F1. The Japanese carmaker has remained longer than initially planned and will continue to assist Red Bull with their engines until 2025.
When new regulations come into force the following year, the team's new partnership with the Ford Motor Company will officially begin. That engine will be the first fully built by Red Bull Powertrains, with the help and knowledge of hybrid and electric vehicles provided by Ford.
They had hoped to gain the status of being a new engine supplier in the sport. Special arrangements were made to give any new power unit constructors and incentive to join the sport, giving them an extra few million to spend in their first three years over the budget cap.
However, their rivals have been arguing against that happening. While this is RBPT's first engine fully created by themselves – and Horner has always stressed that it is a separate entity to the team itself – the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari don't want Red Bill to get any advantage.
Sebastian Vettel warns of looming F1 ban and is "very worried about the future"
FIA rules allow the governing body to grant only "partial new PU manufacturer status" if it determines that an applicant "does not fully satisfy the necessary conditions". It is understood that Red Bull will only get 90% of the extra cash allowance, as their engineers already have extensive knowledge of energy recovery systems used by F1 cars.
Red Bull Powertrains operates out of the team's Milton Keynes base (Red Bull Content Pool)It means Red Bull will still be allowed to spend a little more than their rivals in each of the first three seasons after the new power unit regulations come into force. But they won't get as much benefit as they would have liked, or as much as what Audi – a bona fide new constructor – will be entitled to.
Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Ferrari and Mercedes were among the parties instrumental in arguing against Red Bull getting full new manufacturer status. Scuderia president John Elkann and chief executive Benedetto Vigna are said to have been personally involved in the matter.
Their argument was that RBPT has already been operating in F1 for the past couple of years, even though it did not construct the engine currently being used by the Red Bull and AlphaTauri teams. It was also reportedly pointed out that powertrains has poached several top engineers from rivals in recent times, including some from Mercedes.