First it was Helmut Marko, then it was Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and now it’s team boss Christian Horner the one to broadcast Renault F1’s third unofficial quit threat this year.
Renault’s main concern at the moment is the lack of in-season development for the 2016 Formula 1 season. The reason why teams aren’t allowed to develop their power units during the season is a financial one – and yet all teams (led by Ferrari & except for Honda) found a loophole around said rule this year.
The FIA caught on to this and tweaked the rules for next year in order to dissolve the loophole – which leaves Renault in no man’s land as they’re way behind Mercedes and Ferrari in terms of performance.
Renault Sport boss Cyril Abiteboul said that the French manufacturer wouldn’t stay in F1 without a competitive engine, and as their contract with Red Bull and Toro Rosso is set to expire in 2016, things may not get better in time for any of these parties.
Red Bull’s Christian Horner was quoted as saying “The situation is we are at a precarious point in terms of Renault’s commitment to the future. If you are effectively shutting that down (the engine development) in February, you are almost waving goodbye to them.”
Horner is also trying to get Mercedes to listen by saying that F1 can’t afford to lose an engine manufacturer – but that might just be a hopeless battle.
Mercedes of course aren’t in favor of any changes that would help out their rivals and we can completely understand that. Why would you want to rock the boat when you’re already doing so well?
Story references: planetf1
PHOTO GALLERY
