Will Red Bull kiss and make up with Renault?

It seems unlikely, but could Red Bull Racing make up with Renault and re-kindle their relationship for 2016?

Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko has stated that both Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso will leave Formula One in 2016 if they cannot secure a competitive engine.

Both teams had contracts to race with Renault power-trains for next season, however both parties have mutually agreed to go their separate ways after a torrid couple of seasons.

Renault are in the midst of a takeover deal with Lotus, whilst Red Bull Racing have held talks with both Mercedes and Ferrari.

Mercedes turned down the approach, whilst in Russia it appeared that Ferrari had done the same.

Honda also revealed that they would not consider a partnership with Red Bull.

If all three manufacturers have ended talks then Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner would have little option but to see if he can bring Renault back to the table.

‘Nothing is officially finished with Renault yet, It’s difficult to envisage how we go forward – but this is Formula 1 and nothing is impossible. Everything’s open – pretty much everything.’ he told Sky Sports.

So why would Red Bull consider such a monumental u-turn?

‘At the end of the day nothing as we stand here is fixed, We are working on lots of different scenarios. Bernie [Ecclestone – F1 supremo] is very actively involved as well and very keen to find a solution. We need to. This team is too good not to be involved in Formula 1 and obviously there’s an awful lot of staff members whose futures depend on this decision. Therefore it’s important we find the right one.’

But even if Horner could bring Renault back around the table, would it be enough for Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz?

‘All I can do is try and present some good options in front of him for him to make that final call. But he’s passionate about this team, Red Bull have probably invested more in Formula 1 than any other company over the last 10 years.

‘He cares about the employees, he cares about what the future of the company is, and he’s been around Formula 1 for 20 years now – firstly as a sponsor and then as a team owner. He just wants to see us in a position where we can compete. Hopefully we can come to some conclusions that enable us to do that.’