16/03/2015
NEWS STORY
Helmut Marko, advisor to Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has warned that the company could quit F1.
In the wake of a disappointing performance which saw one car fail to make the start and the other battle hard to finish a distant sixth, whilst team boss Christian Horner appeared to spit the dummy and launch into an 'it's not fair' tirade aimed at Mercedes and the FIA, Marko took things a little further.
"We will evaluate the situation again in the summer as every year and look into costs and revenues," he is quoted as saying by the Austrian media.
"If we are totally dissatisfied we could contemplate an F1 exit," he added. "The danger is there that Mr Mateschitz loses his passion for F1."
Keen not to appear as though the 'threat' was the work of a sore loser (as if!), the Austrian added. "These power units are the wrong solution for Formula One, and we would say this even if Renault were in the lead. The technical rules are not understandable, they are much too complicated, and too expensive.
"We are governed by an engineers' formula," he concluded. "We wanted cost reduction too, but it is not happening like this. A designer like Adrian Newey is castrated by this engine formula. These rules will kill the sport."
Of course, with Red Bull owning two teams such a move would send shockwaves through the paddock and beyond.
While some are expressing shock, nay horror, it is something that Pitpass has warned of for years. For Mateschitz and his company F1 was always a promotional exercise, it was never about sentiment or passion for the sport.
When the company first bought the Jaguar team it kicked new life into the paddock, even if it did mean some ludicrous publicity opportunities and the dreaded Formula Una girls.
Then, suddenly things got serious. Big names were recruited in terms of management and technical staff, suddenly Red Bull was a {i]bona fide racing team.
In time came success, lots of it, and courtesy of this and relationships with the likes of Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley, Mateschitz’ team became a big political player in the sport also.
However, as any team will tell you, F1 is a roller coaster and nobody wins forever. Along with the glory years there will be seasons spent languishing much further down the grid. This, of course, is when most teams show their mettle.
Having won successive titles, it was inevitable that the pendulum of success would swing in someone else's favour.
Williams, which has known more than its fair share of success over the years, fell into decline, and for a while there were fears that it would become another casualty of a sport which, despite the talk, has no time for sentiment. However, without spending big bucks it doesn't have, merely by appointing the right people and knuckling down, the Grove outfit has risen again.
However, this is because Williams raison d'etre is racing, it is in its DNA.
At heart, Red Bull always was and always will be a publicity hungry energy drink company.
Whilst Mateschitz ponders his teams futures, the sport's powers that be must take note. Whilst they cannot be held to ransom, perhaps this is the time for a complete and thorough overall of a sport that has fully lost its way.
Not that long ago, when some were pushing the idea of three-car teams, Red Bull was being put forward as one of the chosen teams.
Which beggars the question, just how short-sighted are the people running this sport.
Chris Balfe