“We are supplying to four teams”- Mercedes denies supplying engines to Red Bull as a replacement for Honda from 2022 is awaited.
Red Bull now remains under uncertainty as they don’t have an engine supplier for the 2022 season with Honda deciding to pull out from Formula 1 that year.
While Red Bull is exploring all the possibilities to replace Honda, the rumours of Mercedes supplying them engines also emerged but quickly squashed down.
Mercedes’ team principal has already confirmed that they will not supply the engine to Red Bull from 2022, as they will be supplying engines to four teams from 2021, which includes themselves.
Asked by Motorsport.com whether Mercedes was open to working with Red Bull as a customer team, the manufacturer’s F1 chief, Toto Wolff, ruled it out for “various reasons”.
“The main [reason] being that we are supplying four teams including us,” Wolff said. “We are almost in a state where we cannot make power units for all of us, so there is no capacity.
“But I do not doubt that Helmut [Marko] will have a Plan B, as he said, and probably doesn’t need to rely on any of the current power unit suppliers.”
Red Bull already seeing.
Christian Horner has himself revealed that Mercedes “made it clear that they are not keen to supply an engine”, therefore limiting the team “to two current suppliers in the sport”.
Horner added that Red Bull had to “take our time to do the necessary investigation and due diligence” about its options for 2022.
On the other hand, Ferrari claims that they haven’t given a thought of supplying their engine to Ferrari but would do if approached.
“It is something that we need to start considering now, and I think we have not decided,” Binotto said. “I think it will be down to Red Bull eventually to look at us and ask for a supply.”
They are a great team, no doubt, and I think supplying them is as well a lot of energy which is required. Timing-wise, there is very little time because we need to organise ourselves.
“2022 is just here behind, so as we said, it was somehow sudden news from Honda and now we need to consider something that was not considered a few days ago.”
“But [it is] something which we need to consider and which we need to take time to think about and have a decision,” he concluded.
