Ferrari to hand Red Bull a lifeline?

Could Red Bull Racing really become a customer of Ferrari?

Red Bull Racing appear to be disillusioned with the sport of Formula One at the present moment in time.

Following a period of domination with Sebastian Vettel and Renault, Red Bull have now fallen behind Mercedes and Ferrari.

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz’s advisor Helmut Marko have stated on a number of occasions that Red Bull could quit Formula One and it all seems to hinge on if they can become competitive again with Renault.

The current contract with Renault runs until the end of the 2016 Formula One World Championship, but after that what options do they have?

They could seek a new long-term partner and Helmut Marko has previously suggested the he wants to see Audi enter the sport.

Audi have dominated Endurance Racing over the past decade with a number of Le Mans titles, their Hybrid Engine has proved to be the best over the past decade and that technology could hypothetically transfer well into the world of v6 hybrid-turbo Formula One.

‘If we don’t have a competitive engine in the near future, then either Audi is coming or we are out,’ Marko told the BBC in recent months.

Audi and the VW Group [which along with Audi and VW includes brands such as Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Seat] have in the past been against the notion of entering Formula One due to chairman Ferdinand Piech not holding a good personal relationship with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

However 78-year-old Piech resigned from his position in April.

In fact Audi chairman Rupert Stadler is pro Formula One, but an F1 entry was vetoed as recently as January by Piech. Once Audi announce Piech’s replacement things will become clearer and due to this rumblings around the paddock still suggest that this is the most likely outcome for Red Bull.

But if this wasn’t to happen, what options do they have?

McLaren have recently shown that any team with ambitions of winning titles cannot afford to be a customer of a rival. Choosing to dump the outright best package in on the grid in Mercedes in favour of years of catch-up work with Honda.

Red Bull are likely to take the same stance, however Ferrari have made a public comment that they would be willing to supply them.

‘I have a lot of respect for Red Bull, They’ve done a lot for the sport, they’ve had the world championship for a number of years. I think they will find their way again and if we can help them get there, we’d be more than glad to do it.’ Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne told Sky Sports.