Ferrari opposes Red Bull plans to freeze engine development. Ferrari opposes Red Bull plans to freeze engine development.

Scuderia Ferrari seems to want to thwart Red Bull’s plans. Max Verstappen’s team is looking at the option of developing the Honda engine itself from 2022 onwards.

On 26 October, a day after the Portimao GP, all the team bosses and the FIA will meet to discuss the problems that have arisen after Honda announced its departure from Formula 1. The departure of the Japanese is causing headaches for Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri, as the two teams now have to find another engine supplier or come up with a solution themselves. But even more important than this: it exposes a major underlying problem in the sport.

Austrian help for Red Bull Racing with the acquisition of Honda engines?
After all, Honda’s departure shows that the sport is not profitable and sustainable enough in the long run. Developing a power source is very expensive and complex, and this is preventing many manufacturers from entering the sport. In order to solve the engine problem, Red Bull is now exploring the possibilities of further developing the engine it gets from Honda in 2021. The team has done this before, with a Renault engine.

Red Bull wants to freeze engine development
But in order to bring this idea to a successful conclusion, Red Bull came up with something. It wants the development of the engines of the teams from 2022 so that it will be possible for Red Bull to keep up with the developments of the other teams. The opinions of the other engine suppliers on this plan are divided. Mercedes seems to be in favour of the plan, Renault only if the engines are coordinated with each other beforehand. But Ferrari takes a very different view.

In Maranello they believe that Red Bull is not in a tight spot. “You can knock on the door at any time in Paris or in Maranello. There you can get an engine that costs you less than if you do it yourself,” says the team to Auto, Motor und Sport. The team also thinks the integration of biofuels from 2022 onwards is too important and doesn’t want to stop that development, ‘because Red Bull wants to get its way’.