Mateschitz: STR may have early edge
Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz has admitted that his Scuderia Toro Rosso team may be more likely to score points at the beginning of the year than Red Bull Racing
On the back of the cooling issues and reliability problems that have marred the RB2's build-up to the season, Mateschitz is under no illusions that the beginning of the campaign could be a struggle for his main outfit.
And with Toro Rosso's restricted V10-engine expected to be bulletproof in terms of reliability, Mateschitz thinks it is possible that Red Bull's junior team will be their main points-scorers early on.
"There will be, at the beginning, a small advantage (for the V10) because they will have no problems with the durability," he said in an interview with Salzburger Nachrichten.
"But as time goes by the V8s will become stronger and more stable and then they will have the advantage. However, the chance to come into the points is larger perhaps at the beginning (of the year) for Toro Rosso than for Red Bull Racing."
Although Mateschitz has admitted that Red Bull Racing are behind schedule with their preparations for the year, he is not unduly concerned about the situation.
"With the overheating problems from the beginning of testing with the RB2 we lost time and the testing programme was put a little bit back," he added. "But the best lap of Christian (Klien, at Barcelona last week) was very good.
"We know it is safe to say that the new is good and that Mark Smith delivered some tidy work as chief designer. The influence of Adrian Newey coming now will begin to show.
"The engine is of course a concern in terms of reliability and we have not yet driven a full race distance. But at the beginning, all will have this problem more or less."
Share Or Save This Story
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Jon Noble: An unfair perception or a genuine concern? Lifting the lid on Red Bull’s Tsunoda scepticism
Alex Marquez withdraws from MotoGP Czech Grand Prix
How an F1 mechanics’ reunion recalled stories of working practices that would now send HR into meltdown
MotoGP Czech GP: Ogura scorches to first pole position
Has Alpine finally started its return climb?
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments