Ferrari: Red Bull behaviour over 2016 F1 engine supply 'offensive'

Red Bull chose to terminate its contract with Renault amid a fractious relationship and criticism of the French manufacturer's performance and reliability.

Ferrari was among the alternatives Red Bull pursued a deal with, before ending up sticking with Renault - which never formally accepted the contract termination - and rebranding the unit TAG Heuer.

Speaking at the Scuderia's annual Christmas media briefing, Marchionne said he did not approve of Red Bull's behaviour.

"What I find offensive is that somebody considered normal and absolutely rightful to have a good engine," said Marchionne.

"Nobody has the right to get such an engine. Everything has to be defined, in proper times for these specific terms.

"Then Renault didn't want deliver an engine because there were issues in the past and because there were some claims about the requests.

"There were problems in finding the team spirit.

"What Renault did was decide to give Red Bull engines and give Red Bull the opportunity to be successful.

"It's also a matter of fairness, of giving credit where credit is due.

"I do not want to accuse anyone of anything. I don't want to defend [Renault chief] Carlos [Ghosn] or accuse anyone of anything.

"Is a team strong in terms of chassis if it has no engine? It is not a complete team.

"A team is strong when it has strong drivers, strong chassis and a strong power unit."

Red Bull had initially believed it had an engine deal with Mercedes for 2016, before turning to Ferrari and Honda - where a tie-up was vetoed by McLaren - when that fell through.