Mark Webber thinks the switch to Ferrari power will be good for his former team Red Bull. It is yet to be formalised or announced, but it is now expected that, after the Mercedes deal fell over, the former quadruple world champions will switch from Renault to Ferrari customer power for 2016.
Sport Bild quoted Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche as ruling out the deal due to Mercedes attaching "great important to long-term cooperation". "That could not be guaranteed at Red Bull," he reportedly said. The German magazine said Red Bull and sister team Toro Rosso are now expected to use up-to-date Ferrari engines next year, after officials met with Sergio Marchionne at Monza recently.
"Renault and Red Bull will separate," predicted former team driver Mark Webber, "and now Ferrari appears to be the best possible option for them. With those engines they could be winning right now. Remember (Sebastian) Vettel with his Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso?" the Australian is quoted by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Current Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat agrees with that assessment, predicting that even with an underpowered Renault power unit this weekend, the team should be in good shape at tight and twisty Singapore. "The car is going well now," the Russian said on a sponsor visit to Moscow at the weekend. "In theory, Singapore looks good for our car," he added. Teammate Daniel Ricciardo agreed: "We expect to be very competitive in Singapore. We can really fight for a podium there." (GMM)
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Replies (3)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Assuming both Ferraris and Mercedes will last the race, Im not sure Red Bull will fight for podiums. Even if their car is good in the corners, neither Ferrari's or Mercedes' cars are solely based around a straight-line speed philosophy, so they wont suffer too much in Singapore. But they could very well be fighting for 4th place, as neither Williams' or Force India's cars has outstanding cornering speed. Could be a good weekend for McLaren aswell, if they get the opportunity and use sufficient strategy.
khasmir
Posts: 893
If McLaren/Honda fails to score any points at Singapore then I fear relations will go from bad to worse. Both sides will take the blame game to the next level.
khasmir
Posts: 893
Still weird to see Red Bull and Renault split up. Maybe Red Bull is a but impatient compared to the success they had in the past but Renault has certainly let down its customers regarding both performance and reliability. But it's still better than a Honda... ;)