F1: Red Bull pondered building own engine

Red Bull considered building its own Formula 1 engine but quickly realised it was not worth pursuing, according to the outfit's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko.

The four-time world champion team dropped down the pecking order in 2014 after engine supplier Renault failed to produce a competitive engine for the new V6 era. Early in 2014, when it was clear that the Renault would struggle, Red Bull evaluated pursuing its own project.

"We looked at it but we very quickly found out it wasn't for Red Bull," said Marko. "[It was] when we had the first tests in 2014. We were looking at it, investigating it."

When asked if it involved AVL, an Austrian engine development company, Marko said: "Dietrich Mateschitz is from Styria, AVL is from Graz. Some other companies were making turbos. They are all within one hour. There is enough know-how. But the costs and complexity of the whole thing...

"We are not talking about an engine, we're talking about a power unit which is far more complicated and these engine regulations are wrong. It's too expensive, it's too engineering-driven, it doesn't make the sound you need and the driver is more or less a passenger.

"The costs are enormous. We are talking about 250-300 people just to develop such an engine and we don't know how long the regulations will go."

With producing its own engine off the table, Marko insists Red Bull has alternatives in mind for when its Renault deal expires at the end of this season.

"We have options," he said. "We won't be without an engine next year.

"We have an option, but we want a competitive engine, one that you can run at the front, that you can win with. There are still discussions to equalize power within two percent or bring the so-called independent engine in again. Let's see what happens with the regulations and let's see what development the engine we are using, which is a TAG Heuer, is doing this season."

Originally on Autosport.com