23/04/2015
NEWS STORY
Four races in and Red Bull is fourth in the standings and under pressure from Sauber and Toro Rosso, furthermore team boss Christian Horner admits there is no quick fix.
"We had a difficult start into the season," he told the official F1 website. "We are not remotely in the position that we expected to be, or wanted to be. Some of our problems are beyond our control and all we can do is offer our support where possible."
Those problems outside their control refers to Renault, whose power unit is not only no match for its rivals but also unreliable. Though he finished sixth in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix an engine failure as he crossed the line takes the Australian perilously close to the (four engine) limit at which point he will start incurring penalties.
Naturally, Horner would like to see the rules changed.
"It is frustrating," he admits. "For sure we are going to use more than four - we’ve used three in three races - so the chances of us staying within the limit of four is close to zero.
"The teams agreed unanimously in Malaysia to introduce a fifth engine, but the engine penalties will affect others too - not only us. For us we would need that number to increase to seven, eight or nine engines for the season. Unfortunately these are the rules and we are not looking great within these rules. Hopefully these rules will become more realistic in the future."
The situation is further complicated by the desire by some teams, and Bernie Ecclestone, to change the engine formula for 2017. While Red Bull wants changes, there are fears that, as ever, there will be no consensus.
"If they freeze this engine effectively in February next year then you are going to freeze advantages and disadvantages," says Horner. "I think it has to be opened up to allow more development as this is a very immature technology.
"The downside is cost," he admits. "Or you come up with regulations that make the engine less of a performance differentiator and take costs out.
"Whatever you do you will have happy and unhappy faces. So the real question should be what is best for Formula One. But the teams have to look out for their own interests, so there will always be those that try to exploit the rules and it is against everything that a competitive team is to give away an advantage."
If Renault cannot turn things around at some stage Red Bull will need to seek a new engine partner, Horner is asked if there is a deadline.
"We have a contract with Renault for 2015 and 2016," he replies, "and it is in Renault’s interest as much as in ours to sort the current issues out as quickly as possible.
"In reality our best chance is with Renault - and vice versa. We have won 50 Grands Prix and eight world championships together - so sometimes frustration boils over," he admits, referring to some of the recent comments made by him and others within the organisation.
Whilst Horner and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko have been the most vocal, owner Dietrich Mateschitz recently joined in the chorus of complaint, warning that his team could leave the sport.
"Dietrich doesn’t talk publicly very often," admits Horner, "but when he does you have to listen. What he was conveying was: Renault should do either the job properly or not at all. You can’t be half pregnant.
"Red Bull has been in the sport for around 20 years," he adds, "first as a sponsor, then as a shareholder and then as a team owner. Dietrich has invested more in F1 in the last 20 years than probably any other team or company in the sport.
Red Bull's situation, of course, hasn't been helped by the success - Bahrain aside - of its sister team, Toro Rosso.
"Toro Rosso has done a superb job - even though they were very unlucky in Bahrain - and both their drivers are doing well. But a championship is about 19 or 20 races and not about one. It is super to see the youngsters doing so well and we haven’t given our drivers a fair chance. They’ve had to fight with so many issues that driving somehow became almost a second thought."
Asked what the Faenza team might be doing differently with the same power unit, Horner says: They are operating the power unit in exactly the same way as we do…
"They haven’t out-qualified us yet!" he adds, "but they have a good car. James Key has done a super job with the technical team - and we haven’t had a straightforward weekend yet.
"For sure we need to improve our car," he continues. "But we have compromised the set-up a lot to address other issues that we have. So you end up in a vicious circle - less downforce, etc. - which creates other problems. We are not in an optimal position with the RB11 yet - but it is definitely an Adrian car…
Asked how much is it an Adrian car, he responds: "Very much. Yes, he has taken a step back but he is involved in the RB11 as in every previous car. The difference will come from RB12 onwards. Yes, he is not that close any more - but he was in Bahrain. He is still mentoring and guiding the technical team."
As for his drivers...
"Daniil has done a good job so far. The problem is that he had a number of issues that had nothing to do with him. He hasn’t had a fair run yet - but what we see is that he is very quick and has a good feel for the car. With regard to the standings of both drivers in the championship, neither can be blamed."
Asked how he envisages the team's season playing out, what if the power unit finally delivers... he replies: "No what ifs! The only answer right now: terrible start - great finish! But to be realistic: our problems are not short term so there will not be any short-term fixes. We have to take a bit of a pain at the moment. And if that is the foundation for a better future then you’ve got to take the pain."