Helmut Marko has explained why Red Bull felt it was important to find a way to become self-sufficient on the engine front, indicating that the team's lack of input into their former engine partner Renault's installation was what first gave them the idea. Speaking to AutoRevue , Marko was asked about the decision to establish the Red Bull Powertrains arm of the company that will see them become an engine manufacturer and supplier in their own right, just like Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault (Alpine). "[It's important] from a psychological point of view, but also from a technical point of view," Marko explained. "You get what you're given, because these engine manufacturers have their own team. "But for Mr. Newey [Adrian, Red Bull's Chief Technical Officer] and the entire technical team, it's incredibly important that they have a say and that a radiator [for example] is possibly placed differently."
Red Bull chasing a 'single unit' team setup
Marko added that Red Bull felt it important to head down the direction of the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes, to cut out their dependency on third-party suppliers. "You get something put there and you can't influence it," he said. "That was our idea. That's the huge advantage of Ferrari. "[It's important] that the overall car-engine concept forms a single unit. That's why this will also happen on our premises." With work going on at full speed at Red Bull's campus in Milton Keynes to get the Powertrains department up and running - team boss Christian Horner recently revealing that the plan is for the plant to come online in mid-2022 - Marko said he's thrilled at the progress and how the company has grown since entering F1 as a takeover of the Jaguar outfit back in late 2004. "We now have an impressive campus that has been created over these years from these two halls that we took over from Jaguar," he said. "We own all the buildings, and it looks very tidy."
Most read
