Christian Horner insists the relationship between Red Bull and AlphaTauri is “an awfully long way away from a pink Mercedes” amid scrutiny over closer ties between the two F1 teams.
As part of a major shake-up at AlphaTauri that will include a name change for 2024, the Faenza outfit is set to grow a closer bond to sister team Red Bull, mirroring the relationship Ferrari has with Haas.
AlphaTauri will eventually have more aero staff based in the UK and is set to take more customer parts from Red Bull for next season, though the outfit have rubbished suggestions they could run a clone RB19 next year.
The strengthened ties between Red Bull and AlphaTauri have raised eyebrows among rival teams and was expected to dominate at the latest meeting of the F1 Commission in Abu Dhabi, according to a report by Germany’s Motorsport Magazin.
However, Horner said the subject wasn’t discussed as he downplayed the increased synergies between Red Bull and AlphaTauri.
“It wasn’t discussed in the Commission,” Horner said. “But no. I mean, we’re an awfully long way away from a pink Mercedes.
“There’s some transferable components that are clearly listed within the regulations that you’re allowed to supply. And that’s what they get.
“When you look at the car, there’s quite fundamental differences between their car and a Red Bull Racing car. And arguably, there’s other cars on the grid, which are far closer in concept than an AlphaTauri is.
“You’ve only got to look at an Aston Martin or even a McLaren. If you look around the rear suspension of McLaren, it’s very close in concept to that of our own.”
Horner was keen to point out the relationship Ferrari and Mercedes have with their customer teams.
“Of course, there’s certain components that we can supply as is the case with Ferrari and Mercedes that supply two Grand Prix teams with gearboxes and suspension and simulation tools, a wind tunnel,” he added.
“And that’s the identical relationship between the companies, of course. It’s then down to them how they use those tools.
“And you can see that McLaren have used the tools in certain respects better than their supplier has done in the second half of the year.
“So it’s really down to them, how they made use of what they’re permitted within the regulations.”
Keyword: Red Bull-AlphaTauri F1 ties a ‘long way away from a pink Mercedes’, insists Christian Horner