Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner believes the outfit will be able to challenge Mercedes for the championship this year, if power unit provider Renault delivers on its anticipated gains.
Red Bull claimed four straight titles between 2010 and 2013, but Renault has lagged behind Mercedes in the engine department since 1.6 litre V6 power units were introduced for 2014.
The squad endured a fractious relationship with Renault as matters deteriorated in 2015, when a lack of performance and reliability contributed to Red Bull slipping to fourth in the standings.
Amid the difficult partnership, Red Bull rebadged its Renault power units under the TAG Heuer guise, though gains from the French manufacturer throughout 2016 enabled Red Bull to re-emerge as Mercedes’ primary challenger once more, taking wins in Spain and Malaysia.
Horner is optimistic that further progress from Renault will enable Red Bull to legitimately challenge Mercedes for overall honours in 2017.
“It’s a brand-new engine for this year, a change in philosophy,” Horner said.
“They’ve had a big winter, we’re hoping for a step in performance, if that’s delivered then hopefully we can be a challenger team this year and give Mercedes and Ferrari a hard time.
“Mercedes for sure is the team to beat, triple world champions, they set the bar pretty high, that’s what we’re aspiring to.
“Our driver line-up is fantastic, we have great stability in the team, I’m excited about the year ahead.”
Horner also heaped praise on the squad’s RB13, which will be unveiled on Sunday.
“Our RB13 is one of the prettiest cars we’ve designed and made,” he said.
“The geometry of the car under these new regulations [means] the proportions look right.
“It looks mean, it looks fast, it’s that old adage, ‘if it looks right, it tends to go alright’, and this car for sure looks alright.”
