Mercedes Discloses What Went Down in Engine Talks with Red Bull
Giancarlo Perlas October 29, 2015
When news broke out about the negotiations between Mercedes-Benz and Red Bull with the former supplying the latter with engines for its Formula One cars, almost everyone was in for a surprise. Mixed reactions were voiced out as well from the sporting community. But in the end, an agreement did not materialize.
Without a winning engine for 2016, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz decided he will pull out from F1 next season. His other team Toro Rosso will also be making an exit. Of course, Bernie Ecclestone was very upset about it. He was suspected of even having a hand in the TV black out of Mercedes during the Japanese Grand Prix.
So what really transpired during the negotiations? Mercedes revealed its side of the story to Autosport.
According to the source, near the end of the discussion between the two brands, Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff laid down two conditions on the table. Red Bull did not respond to the terms put forward by Mercedes after, which led to the talks breaking down.
First, Mercedes wanted to get the go signal of Renault before pushing through with the deal. Wolff said this was important because the company is the industrial partner of Mercedes. He was clearly being careful not to taint their relationship just because of F1.
Second, the three-pointed star marque was also considering a scenario wherein Red Bull will relive its dominance in the sport using Mercedes engines. With that, Wolff told the source that Mercedes wanted a clear idea of how it can benefit from a Red Bull partnership outside F1 if its team’s standing will be diluted by the success of its engine customer. He asked if will there be a car scheme, joint events, or joint platforms between them.
Wolff claimed Red Bull failed to respond to the issues raised. Thus, nothing came out of their negotiations.
