Honda’s planned withdrawal from Formula One at the end of the 2021 season leaves Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri in a somewhat precarious situation, with Mercedes already ruling out a supply deal.
Instead of finding another engine supplier, Red Bull are reportedly looking to continue using and developing Honda’s power unit even after the Japanese manufacturer leaves F1.
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And now, according to Auto Motor und Sport, Red Bull is threatening to withdraw both of its teams from the sport unless an engine freeze is agreed.
The media outlet cited Helmut Marko, a senior Red Bull advisor, as saying that they want to continue to use Honda power units.
“Either engine development will be frozen from 2022, or Red Bull will leave Formula One with its two teams,” they added.
The report notes that the Mercedes F1 Team is “positive” about such an engine freeze, and Renault is also open to backing the proposal if there is an “alignment of engines beforehand.”
Ferrari, however, are reportedly opposed to an engine freeze from 2022, potentially because they want to continue to develop their own power unit to close the gap to Mercedes and Renault.
As such, it is believed that Ferrari will veto Red Bull’s proposal, potentially resulting in Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri withdrawing from F1.
Earlier this month, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto suggested that they are open to supplying Red Bull’s two F1 constructors with power units.
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