Toro Rosso targets the Renault engine for 2014
The small Scuderia is in talks with the French brand for engine supply from 2014, thus abandoning the Ferrari engine that has equipped it since 2007.
The 2013 season hasn’t even started yet, and some are already looking ahead to 2014 and the regulatory changes. With this in mind, Toro Rosso would like to abandon its Ferrari engine so that the STR9 can be powered by a Renault engine.
« It is our goal to have the same engine as the one used by Red Bull Racing in order to leverage the synergies that will be possible from the regulations. We are in negotiations with Renault, we will see what happens. No contract has been signed yet, » explains Franz Tost in the paddock of Jerez.
We remember that at the beginning of its history Toro Rosso used the same chassis as the team led by Christian Horner. Today, regulations prohibit this kind of process and the Faenza team has to build its own car, but having the same engine as Red Bull in 2014 would still allow the use of certain common technologies.
« It would be an advantage [to have the same engine as Red Bull]. We could use the same gearbox as Red Bull because the regulations allow it, and obviously, we would use the synergies permitted by the regulations, » adds Tost.
If 2014 still seems far away, the director of the small Scuderia would like the decision not to be delayed too long in order to quickly focus on the 2014 car with all the important data in hand for its development.
« The sooner you know who your partners will be, the quicker you can delve into the details because the transition to next year is not simple. Not so much because of the engine, but because of the turbo, due to the heat and the cooling system. Then there’s the gearbox, the entire package must work as one, and you need to know who your partners will be as soon as possible. »
If this deal were to come to fruition, Renault could then supply no fewer than five teams, which means ten cars on the starting grids of the Grand Prix. Ferrari, on the other hand, could continue to supply three. It is whispered, in fact, that Force India might swap its Mercedes engine for one emblazoned with the prancing horse.
