The worst part about it is the fact that this is old news for Red Bull, as they had tackled the same problems back in 2009. It was because of the poor reliability of the Renault engines that the team failed to keep themselves in title contention last season, as the Austrian company's owner Dietrich Mateschitz publicly criticized the French manufacturer for their poor units.
Consequently, the Milton Keynes based team pushed hard to switch to a Mercedes engine deal this winter, but the German manufacturer purchasing the title winning Brawn GP blocked it from the get go. According to Red Bull's advisor Helmut Marko, it was Merc's decision not to sign the deal, as they were sensing the danger of turning RBR into a title favorite for the 2010 season.
“They didn't want us. Without being arrogant, they knew that if we had that engine, they wouldn't see us (on the track),” said the Austrian official, who hinted that Mercedes currently benefits from more powerful engines as compared to the other manufacturers, despite the engine development freeze a few years back.
“What we are trying now, and what Renault and Ferrari have also tried, is that we do an equalization of the engine situation,” added Marko.
Vettel's was not the only engine problem experienced by Red Bull in Bahrain, as Mark Webber also started the race with plumes of smoke coming out of his car's rear. Asked about that, the team's boss Christian Horner admitted he has no idea where that came from. “You have to ask Renault,” he added.
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