Red Bull have been weighing up options for a new engine supplier for some time now. The group had also reportedly suggested an engines’ development freeze proposal, which was apparently met with a swift objection by most teams.

While it remains a subject of discussion, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has spoken about the importance of F1 retaining a brand such as Red Bull. He also believes that they would not want to be a customer team again.

F1 should seek to keep both Red Bull teams, says Wolff

Wolff is quoted as saying, “I think for them going back to customer status is not something they are very keen on.

“I truly believe that Honda has done a very good job, and there is performance in the pipeline that gives Red Bull confidence.”

Ever since the Honda news has broken out, the F1 community wondered how Red Bull were going to cope with the potential loss. As a result of this, they have been on everyone’s lips, regarding their next engine manufacturer.

“But equally I understand that they don’t want to go into a spending war with all the other OEMs on developing engines.”

“It’s a sensible proposal I’d like to support. I think Red Bull is a tremendously important brand for Formula 1, and we should do everything to keep the two teams in Formula 1 and help them with the option of having basically works status.”

The Milton-Keynes based team have alternatives available to them

There are a few options available to them from the F1 grid itself. Wolff had clarified earlier on that supplying engines to Red Bull is something that would not happen.

This leaves the Austrian-licensed outfit with Renault and Ferrari as their other pathways. However, they would do everything in their power to take the Honda project under their wing.

Regardless, losing two teams would prove to be a big loss for Formula 1 as a whole. At the end of the day, the stakeholders will have to work out the finer aspects, which suits everybody involved.