After a horrifying 2015 season, fans and management at Red Bull Racing had been hoping that the team would recover for a better show in 2016 F1 season. However, the chief technical officer, Adrian Newey, talking to the The Hindu newspaper, admitted that his team’s engine outfit is inferior to that of their rivals.

Red Bull Racing

He said that teams like Ferrari and Mercedes are expected to further increase their dominance this year on the grid and may pose higher difference in the overall Constructor’s Championship points compared to last year. Newey said that the aim in 2016 Formula One season is to maintain the same gap if not better it with Ferrari and Mercedes, which he fears may be larger than last year.

In 2015 there was a significant gap between Red Bull, finishing fourth with 187 points behind Williams with 257 points, Ferrari scoring 428 points and Mercedes with 703 points. Red Bull have failed to win a single race since 2008 after three consecutive years of constructor title runs. 2015 was probably their worst performance in the recent past and 2016 does not give much for Red Bull fans to smile about as well.

Last year also saw Red Bull chief, Christian Horner engage in a verbal battle with their engine manufacturers, Renault. Both tried to part ways as Red Bull was clearly disappointed with the lack of speed and competitiveness in the cars, however, could not find a way to do so. Red Bull has now agreed to use rebranded engine units which are expected to be out performed by their rivals.

Newey narrated an example of how the sport grew, “Cosworth came with a winning engine in 1967 that was exclusively for the use by the Lotus team. It became clear that the engine was going to be dominant. Then, Lotus agreed to waive its exclusivity to allow others to use it for the goof of the sport”.

He further added, “Unfortunately, that sort of attitude doesn’t seem to exit any more. If the sport is not healthy, what is the point of winning?” Daniel Ricciardo in a statement last month, said that if Red Bull had better engines would have won races.

Tags: F1, Formula One, Motorsport, Motorsports, Red Bull, Red Bull Racing