“Maybe one day he will need an engine from us!”– Christian Horner says when everyone shut their doors on them, self-sufficiency was the way.
Christian Horner and Toto Wolff are clearly not being kind to each other this year, as the stakes are high in the championship battle between the two.
Horner now also revealed that he is displeased with Mercedes’ rejection to supply power unit to them, and he has now vowed to produce a power unit that will make Mercedes regret.
With the Honda’s exit and power unit freeze, Red Bull can arrange an engine for themselves. Therefore, next year, we will see the same engines, but without Honda’s name.
“We need a competitive engine, and this is the best route,” Horner told Autocar. “Mercedes wouldn’t supply one and Renault didn’t want to supply one, so it didn’t leave us with a lot of choices.”
“We’ve got to get on with it and make Toto [Wolff] rue that decision. Maybe one day he will need an engine from us!”
Mercedes people are excited to join Red Bull.
As Red Bull has welcomed some prominent ex-Mercedes names into their Milton-Keynes headquarters, Horner has provided the rationale behind this migration.
“It’s a leap of faith, but it’s an exciting one,” Horner said. “I think people have seen how and what Red Bull has done in motorsport and the commitment it has.”
“It’s based in the UK, it’s 30 miles from Brixworth, they don’t need to move house or move their children from school and it’s a chance to be involved in something from scratch.”
While the engine is the biggest concern for Red Bull in 2022, Horner is relieved that it is not included in the budget cap and can throw in some extra cash to remain competitive.
“Obviously, we’re going to have an expensive couple of years as we gear up, but then there are powertrain budget caps being discussed that are extremely realistic to be introduced in the next couple of years.
“We’re talking about around the £43m mark on research and development, which, suddenly from where budgets have been, makes it entirely feasible.”
