Red Bull gives you wings, but also dizziness, with the figures concerning the Austrian firm's investment in F1.
In fact, no less than 180 million were injected in 2017 into the F1 teams Red Bull Technology based in Great Britain and Toro Rosso established in Italy, an increase of 17% compared to the previous year.
However, if the sustainability of aid to these teams is assured until 2020, Dr Helmut Marko, right-hand man of owner Dietrich Mateschitz, regularly threatens to leave the world of F1, initially if the regulations concerning 2021 engines fails to stabilize, or if the recent agreement with Honda to supply them does not prove satisfactory, for whatever reason.
The man does not hesitate to cite Endurance and the 24 hours of Le Mans as part of the possible reconversion.
Dr Helmut Marko : “We have an agreement that runs until 2020. As long as there are no engine regulations or Concorde Agreements, Red Bull and Honda will not make any decisions regarding 2021. However, we will certainly not become dependent again, as we have been in the past, when we begged others and promises were not kept. Quitting is an option. Or doing something else is another, like racing in other championships. With the Valkyrie (designed by Red Bull Technology for Aston Martin), Le Mans could be an option with hypercar regulations. Even though Red Bull has never entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it's something we're thinking about. The main financial effort would fall on Aston Martin, which is also very clear, because at Le Mans, it is the manufacturers who win. But it would fit our concept. »
Red Bull is also very present in MotoGP, through certain pilots but above all thanks to its partnership with KTM, today covering all categories and strengthening itself in the premier category with the arrival of the French team Tech3 in its ranks.
Even if we do not know the figures concerning MotoGP and the principle of communicating vessels is obviously not implemented, the cessation of F1 cannot logically harm the KTM program which has the stated ambition of rising to the forefront of the premier category. At this level, even the crumbs would be consistent and welcome...
Credits: Image: A. Klein
