Red Bull is hoping to have some clarity on which engines they’ll be using in 2022 by the end of November.
The Austrian drinks giant is working to find a solution for both their teams after current supplier Honda surprisingly announced it would be withdrawing from Formula 1 at the end of next season.
After the news broke, only Mercedes ruled out giving Red Bull engines but team boss Christian Horner confirmed their current focus is on taking the Honda power units in-house and producing them themselves.
“I think our preferred option would be to continue with the power unit that is in the car next year, obviously rebadged as something else,” he said via MotorsportWeek.
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“If we can make an agreement with Honda regarding the use of the IP and product moving forward… it would be a great shame to see those engines just in a warehouse somewhere in Japan.
“So subject to what the regulations are, it would be the preferred route would be to find an agreement to continue with those power units.”
One requirement Red Bull put on pursuing taking over the Honda engines was F1 agreeing to a freeze on development, something Renault and Ferrari already ruled out.
But time is running out for at least an initial decision to be made.
“There are some practical things that need to be decided,” said Horner.
“Engine stuff is such long lead time and if we were to take on a project like that then there’s quite a lot of work behind the scenes that would obviously need to happen and be put in place.
“Really by the end of this month, we need to be firming up on a position.”