Mercedes and Ferrari fear approaching competitive advantage for Red Bull Racing

Formula One team bosses met with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on Friday to discuss current and future issues. Red Bull Racing reportedly applied for new constructor status during the meeting, much to the dismay of Mattia Binotto and Toto Wolff. This would have given the team a bigger budget than its direct rivals, according to La Gazetta dello Sport.

Agreement was reached on a number of agenda items, including the new rules to limit porpoising in 2022. However, the team bosses have not yet agreed on the engine regulations that will come into effect in 2026. An important issue concerns a possible competitive advantage of new manufacturers: the current constructors do not like the idea of a new engine immediately dominating the field as Mercedes did in 2014.

Competitive advantage for Red Bull?

Ferrari and Mercedes are keeping a close eye on Red Bull Racing, which may be able to take advantage of the rules for new constructors. Christian Horner's team has applied for this status as it has never produced engines before and its dedicated Milton Keynes department is just starting out. It would give Red Bull more freedom in developing its power unit than rival teams, who will also have to respect an engine budget cap from next season.

Furthermore, Ferrari and Mercedes are worried about the arrival of Porsche, which are expected to announce a partnership with Red Bull Racing. That announcement has yet to be made as talks between the teams are still ongoing, but the rival teams also see it as a potential competitive advantage for Red Bull. The Austrian team would theoretically have a double budget, as it would be developing its own engine as well as one in partnership with Porsche. In addition, the teams want to see a guarantee that Porsche and Audi will not cooperate to circumvent the budget cap. To ensure this, limits to be determined should be included in the technical regulations.