“Inconceivable” for Red Bull and AlphaTauri to use different F1 engines

It would be “inconceivable” for the Red Bull and AlphaTauri teams to run with different power unit suppliers after Honda exits Formula 1 at the end of 2021, according to Christian Horner.

Honda’s shock announcement that it will be leaving F1 at the end of next year has left Red Bull and its sister team AlphaTauri seeking a new power unit supplier from 2022 and beyond.

Both teams did have different engine suppliers on one occasion in 2018 after the then Toro Rosso team had made an early switch to Honda, while Red Bull was still in its partnership with Renault.

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But closer ties between Red Bull and AlphaTauri formed via the Red Bull ‘synergy’ projects sees both teams sharing key technology, including gearboxes and rear suspension elements. As a result, running two different drivetrain layouts would not be a feasible option.

"I think it's very much a two-for-one scenario," Horner said. "So due to the synergy projects, due to the integration of the drivetrain, then it's inconceivable to think that the two teams could operate on different power units.

"That introduces all kinds of complexities particularly with IP etc, from the different suppliers. So it will be way from ideal to have both teams on different power unit solutions."

AlphaTauri chief Franz Tost echoed Horner’s comments about sharing a supplier engine.

"We don't want to use a different power unit to what Red Bull Racing is using because we want to continue with the synergy process,"the Austrian explained.

"I don't want that we at AlphaTauri start once more designing our own gearbox, the complete rear suspension, that kind of stuff. We have a very close cooperation with Red Bull Technology, and we want to continue with them, and definitely want to have the same engine."

With Mercedes ruling out a supply deal, and Ferrari yet to consider a customer option with Red Bull, Renault appears the most likely current manufacturer to supply the Milton Keynes squad.

“Obviously Renault have to be considered as a potential supplier in the future,” Horner said on the prospect of a reunion with Renault. “I think Renault is a different organisation than the last time they supplied us.

"They have a new chairman who seems passionate about F1, which is good to see. And you know F1 needs that drive from the top of an organisation, that enthusiasm otherwise it's impossible to achieve success in this sport."

Horner also indicated that Red Bull taking over Honda’s abandoned F1 engine in a continuation project with independent support could be a solution.

While Horner has said that “all options” will be considered, he said Red Bull wants to have finalised a succession plan by the end of the calendar year at the very latest.