Red Bull Racing have finally announced their engine plans for the 2016 Formula One World Championship season.
After a seemingly irreversible fall-out with engine supplier Renault, Red Bull courted Mercedes, Ferrari and Honda over the possibility of them supplying the four-time F1 constructors champions.
Mercedes refused to make an offer after considering the approach, Ferrari appeared to only be happy to supply a one-year old specification engine and an approach to Honda was vetoed by McLaren.
With Red Bull close to exiting the sport the team reconciled their relationship with Renault.
The French manufacturer are returning to Formula One in 2016 as a manufacturer after taking over Lotus, but they will still supply Red Bull with engines.
However, the engines will not use Renault naming and will instead be TAG Heuer branded, similar to the McLaren TAG Group-badged Porsche engines in the 1980’s.
Red Bull Racing will also be partnering Swiss engineer Mario Illien to work with the power-unit.
‘TAG Heuer and Red Bull are two transcendent brands which have both a passion for racing and a drive to do things differently, and this unique collaboration is further evidence of that,’ Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports.
‘TAG Heuer has been an icon in the world of Formula 1 for many years and we’re delighted that they’ve chosen to continue their association with the sport by teaming up with us. Our shared values of innovation and a desire to stand out from the crowd make this one of the most exciting partnerships in F1.
‘We are also pleased to see Renault confirm its long-term commitment to F1 and would like to thank them for their contribution to the team since 2007. Their technical partnership with Ilmor gives us confidence, and we look forward to the 2016 season.’
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