Advisor says former champions and Renault face a “difficult situation” but are “working together”
Thursday 14 May 2015 12:43, UK
Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko has dismissed reports quoting him as saying they’d pull out of F1 if Renault’s engine remained uncompetitive and they couldn’t alternatively link up with Audi.
Speaking to Red Bull’s own Servus TV station on Monday, Marko said the reports were “nonsense” and "completely distorted”. He added that although the former world champions and Renault faced a “difficult situation” they were “working together” to make themselves more competitive.
Talk of a link-up between Red Bull and Audi, or even a buyout by the German manufacturer, has refused to go away, even though relations with Renault have seemingly improved following their spat earlier this season.
Ex-F1 driver Gerhard Berger - an associate of Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz - got in on the act at last weekend’s Spanish GP, although Marko says no official contact has been made with Audi.
"The starting point was that Gerhard Berger has expressed a personal opinion, which includes in summary that Red Bull and Audi should get together,” he said.
“That's Gerhard’s opinion. But we currently have a contract with Renault, which is valid until 2016.”
The principal reason why the subject remains a hot topic of debate is the ousting of Ferdinand Piech as chairman of the Volkswagen Group, Audi’s parent company, last month.
Piech was seen as the barrier to any F1 involvement by Audi, although Marko doesn’t think it’s a priority for them.
"Audi has officially spoken neither with us nor with anyone else. I believe the VW group has currently other worries than to take care of Formula 1,” he added.
“It is first of all to fix the entire management structure. I do not think that Formula 1 is currently an issue there.”
Audi themselves have admitted an entry into F1 is a longer-term option for the company.
“In life you must keep things open," Audi chairman Rupert Stadler told Auto Express. "We’re already well stuffed with successful motorsport projects. But with F1, wait and see. It’s an option for Audi. Not at this moment, perhaps. But it is still an option."
Marko might have dismissed the latest reports, yet speaking after March’s season-opener in Melbourne he said that Red Bull could conceivably exit as early as this summer.
"We will evaluate the situation again [in the summer] as every year and look into costs and revenues," the Austrian media quoted him at the time.
"If we are totally dissatisfied we could contemplate an F1 exit. The danger is there that Mr Mateschitz loses his passion for F1."
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 at the weekend, former Red Bull driver Mark Webber said that Marko’s comments should be taken “with a pinch of salt”.
“Mateschitz is the boss and what he says has to be respected,” the Australian added. “He is having a think about the whole thing and he hasn’t just been around for five minutes, he has been around for a long time and done a lot of good things for the sport.
“Let’s see what his decision is in maybe a few months.”
