RBR: Infiniti offers technical boost

Although the newly-announced deal is primarily a means for Infiniti to boost its worldwide brand recognition, both car company and team are hoping that there will be opportunities for technical collaboration in the future.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner said: "As the team has evolved, it is important for us strategically, as we look to the future, to make sure we are aligned with the right partners - whether they are from a marketing perspective or elsewhere.

"But particularly from a Red Bull perspective, it is the technological challenges that F1 presents. As an independent team we are not battery specialists, and we are not KERS specialists. We want to focus on designing and producing F1 chassis, and if we can tap into the type of resource that Nissan and Infiniti have, that is very exciting for us."

Infiniti's vice-president Andy Palmer believes that one of the main areas where his company can benefit Red Bull Racing is in battery technology - which will become more important as KERS use increases over the next few years.

"There are all sorts of things where there is potential to work together," he said. "We are a car company, so in consequence we have a lot of power in terms of analytical type of work.

"Obviously Nissan is a leader in electrical vehicles so, as things move in that direction, there are opportunities to work that way. But we will see. It will be a case of wait and see. We are there to answer requests in the first instance and then we will see how it goes."