18/09/2015
NEWS STORY
Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has confirmed that his teams will not use Renault engines next season.
After weeks (months) of speculation, the Austrian finally confirmed the news today, though it is unclear where his teams go from here.
"The separation from our engine partner at the end of the season is by mutual agreement," he told Salzburger Nachrichten. "There was no sense in working together any more. You couldn't put the teams through that any longer."
Mateschitz had previously said that unless he could secure a competitive engine he would leave the sport, a move that would see the grid drop to nine teams in 2016 once Haas joins.
Though Mercedes has ruled out an engine deal, Ferrari has said that it would be happy to provide Red Bull and Toro Rosso, having previously worked with both teams.
Indeed, Mateschitz suggested the Maranello manufacturer would provide an ideal (temporary) solution, saying it would be a "very acceptable solution for the next two or three years".
However, one rumour sweeping the Singapore paddock on Friday night has Volkswagen buying Red Bull and running it under one of its brand names, names which include Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Bentley.
That said, for as long as anyone can remember, Volkswagen has ruled out F1, claiming that nothing can really be gained from the sport, though the company's attitude softened following the shock resignation earlier this year of Ferdinand Piech, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who harboured an intense dislike of Bernie Ecclestone.
Check out our Friday gallery, here.