Red Bull Racing eyeing new Renault engine deal

The Red Bull Racing/Renault tie-up delivered its maiden world championship last season and the current dominance of Sebastian Vettel looks set to result in another title this year.

Despite that success, however, Red Bull Racing has not always been totally happy with the ultimate power of the Renault - and two years ago it came close to making a switch to Mercedes-Benz.

However, with the overall performance of the Renault power unit now paying dividends, Red Bull Racing has said that its priority is to renew its Renault contract, which comes to an end after 2012.

Red Bull Racing owner Dietrich Mateschitz said: "We always tried to be associated with a big manufacturer. Renault will remain our first approach for a deal for 2013 and beyond."

When asked by AUTOSPORT about the plans going forward, Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said: "Talking with Renault about 2013 and further on had progressed very well, as we expected to run the 1.6-litre four cylinder turbo.

"An extension of our contract was close until the new situation came up. Concerning the V6 turbo from 2014 we have received positive signals from Renault, but we have to discuss the details of the new situation."

There has recently been speculation that Red Bull could consider building its own engine in the future, with the Austrian company AVL List having been singled out as a potential partner.

Mateschitz has played down the idea, however - stating that "only in extreme conditions with no manufacturer available for us" would his company follow that route.

Marko added: "I would consider AVL capable of building a F1 engine, however only with a couple of re-enforcements in several areas."

Renault is keen to supply four teams in F1 in the future, with deals currently in place with the Enstone-based Renault team, Team Lotus and Red Bull Racing.

Discussions have taken place with Williams about a renewal of their old partnership, and AUTOSPORT understands that the French car manufacturer is weighing up the formation of a works-type tie-up with one of its team in the near future - with Williams or Team Lotus the most likely candidates.