Christian Horner Sympathizes With Cyril Abiteboul After Realizing Loss-Making Tasks Renault Picked for Red Bull

Christian Horner and former Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul had some heated exchanges in the past, perfectly highlighted in the early seasons of Netflix’s Drive to Survive. However, as it turns out, Horner always felt bad for the Frenchman, because of the situation Renault was put in by the FIA’s rules.

Renault used to be Red Bull’s engine supplier until the Milton-Keynes-based outfit left them for Honda in 2019. There were several reasons behind the same. But mainly, it was down to the fact that Renault was not doing well, financially.

“With the prices that the FIA ​​uses, supplying a customer engine would even be loss-making. I almost feel sympathy for Cyril,” Horner told Motorsport.

There are currently four engine suppliers in F1 — Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, and Honda. The first two make power units for several other teams on the grid, which makes things difficult for them. There are a lot of financial constraints, especially due to the budget cap.

Honda, currently partnered up with Red Bull, will leave them and join Aston Martin in 2026. That is when Red Bull will start using engines from its own powertrains department. This is why Horner wants the FIA to overhaul the rules for engine suppliers. He doesn’t want Red Bull to go down the same road as Renault, and go through what Abiteboul did.

Engines the main focus of the 2026 regulation changes

F1’s 2026 regulation changes are being compared to the onset of the turbo-hybrid era in 2014. Widespread changes to the power units could shake the grid up, bring it closer, or potentially see one team become the most dominant in the sport.

From 2026 onwards, Audi too, will become a works team. They won’t supply engines immediately, but will make their own, as they take over Sauber.

Meanwhile, Red Bull will work with Ford in the powertrains department — a partnership that was announced ahead of the 2023 season.

So far, there is no surety that Red Bull will have customer teams. However, Horner says, “If something comes up later, we are open to the right partner. With the facilities we have here, we can supply engines to four teams.”