Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said that former Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell is unlikely to join the team’s new powertrains division.
Horner previously said it is unlikely that Cowell would join Red Bull, but fresh speculation about him joining the Milton Keynes-based team was prompted after it was announced that senior Mercedes engineer Ben Hodgkinson would be joining their powertrains division.
READ: Webber: Vettel Is ‘Tired’ After 6 Years At Ferrari
Speaking to Sky F1 about Red Bull’s plans to use rebranded Honda power units from 2022 onwards, Horner downplayed the chances of Cowell joining them.
“Andy is a tremendously talented engineer, I think everything he’s achieved in Formula 1 speaks for itself,” Horner said in the interview.
“But Andy is keen to pursue other activities, other ventures. Obviously that’s his priority at this point in time.
READ: Mazepin Needs To Learn Haas Is ‘Not As Good As A Mercedes’ – Steiner
“But we are attracting some great talent and looking forward to making some announcements in due course as we build this venture.”
Commenting on their recent signing of Hodgkinson from Mercedes, Horner described him as an “obvious candidate” for them.
“Obviously Mercedes have done such a wonderful job, not just the last seven years with the hybrid era but also the years before that with the V8 [engines],” the Red Bull team principal added.
“Of course, you do your due diligence, you look around at what is the talent, we have so much of that here based in the UK and Ben’s name absolutely came to the fore.
“He was an obvious candidate for us and I was absolutely delighted when he agreed to join the team for this exciting new chapter in Red Bull’s history in Formula 1.”
Follow us on Google News to never miss an F1 story!