Manama // Under-pressure engine suppliers Renault say they are unmoved by Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz’s threats to pull his team out of Formula One.
Mateschitz told reporters in Shanghai at last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix that he was frustrated by the poor performance of the Renault engines used by Red Bull and was considering quitting F1 if the team’s form did not improve.
Ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Renault F1 engines managing director Cyril Abiteboul has brushed aside Mateschitz’s comments and asked for more patience.
“Engine technology is not something you can easily analyse on a Sunday evening,” he said.
“We need to take into account what’s happening on a Sunday, but there is already a plan of what we want to do for the rest of the season.
“There is a new specification coming with more power, as we don’t have enough power. It just increases our appetite to win, but can it increase the way that we do it?
“I’m not quite sure as engines are a long-term plan. We don’t want to rush into anything.
“There is no issue with Red Bull in the sense that they are a team that wants to be successful and has big ambitions. We understand why they are frustrated.
“But we are not just a supplier; we are racers and we are also extremely frustrated. It is all about understanding each other’s philosophy, issues and supporting each other rather than trying to drag each other down. Maybe we need to assess the way they are working while they have to assess our side of engine development. It’s not a short-term project and we can work with each other.”
After winning the drivers’ and constructors’ championships in dominant fashion from 2010 to 2013, the Renault-powered Red Bull team was the chief rival to Mercedes, winning three races last year.
Red Bull’s lead driver, Daniel Ricciardo, conceded that he and the team were disappointed with their start to the season, but that they remain keen to make amends starting this weekend at Manama.
Ricciardo explained that he and the team had learnt from the poor start that saw him drop 10 places at the start of last Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, but that “updates-wise, there’s not much that can happen in a week”.
In the Mercedes garage, Nico Rosberg said it is time he started grabbing headlines again for what he does on the track, rather than for what he says off it.
The German lost his composure at the Chinese Grand Prix, berating his engineers and accusing teammate Lewis Hamilton of purposefully driving slowly to scupper him.
Hamilton has made a solid start to his Formula One drivers’ title defence, winning two of three races this season.
Dating back to last year, the 30-year-old Briton has won eight of the past 10 races. Rosberg, 29, has yet to win this year and only won once in his past 14 races.
“He is 17 points ahead and that’s a fact,” Rosberg said.
“I have to try and get the points back as soon as possible and that’s clear.” Asked if he could beat Hamilton on Sunday, Rosberg replied: “Yes. But I also thought that the last two races. I need to improve.”
And though Rosberg insisted there was no lingering animosity with Hamilton, asked if he had changed his opinion on how last weekend’s events unfolded, the German snapped: “It’s not an opinion, I was stating facts,” he said.
“So my facts are still the same.
“Facts are facts.”
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