AlphaTauri can buy from Red Bull, but: 'We are independent'

Jody Egginton explains in conversation with F1 podcast Beyond the Grid how the partnership between AlphaTauri and Red Bull Racing works. The technical director of the Italian team says that AlphaTauri can decide on buying certain components from Red Bull.

Buy or build your own?

AlphaTauri is still responsible for bringing in talent for Red Bull. This is done by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko and AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost. "On a sporting level, we receive the young drivers and work with the young drivers. We are very involved in that process. That's unchanged regardless if we have a Red Bull gearbox in our back or not," Egginton informed.

In recent years, Red Bull and AlphaTauri have been working more closely together and this means the sister team can buy parts from the main team. " I am fully supportive of that as a technical director, it suits our needs well and the rules are clear," Egginton said.

Objective of AlphaTauri

Although the possibility of buying parts is there, it is not an obligation. "We are an independent team, we just happen to make use of their parts as other teams do," says Egginton. However, goals are set by the head office. Currently, the goal is to finish fifth among the constructors.

"Our overriding objective is to be a consistent feature in the top 5 of the championship. That's where we want to be, I am tasked with delivering that technically," Egginton said. That top five is currently a long way off. After two strong weekends for Haas F1, AlphaTauri has dropped to eighth place in the Constructors' standings.