Highlights

Red Bull still awaiting Ferrari engine decision

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-09-09 15:38

Red Bull still hope to change Formula One engine supplier next season by switching their Ferrari contract to Italy-based sister team Toro Rosso.

"We entered a two-year agreement with Ferrari (last year)," team boss Christian Horner told a news conference at the Italian Grand Prix on Friday.

"If that agreement has the possibility of being assigned, then its something that obviously we will investigate that would potentially pave the way to put a different engine in the back of a Red Bull Racing car next year."

Horner said it would make sense for Toro Rosso, as an Italian team with an Italian driver in Vitantonio Liuzzi, to also have an Italian engine.

Media reports have suggested that the main Red Bull Racing team wants to replace Ferrari with Renault engines.

Technical director Adrian Newey warned that there was limited time to play with, however.

"Luckily with the current V8 engines now, the installation of engines is fairly similar so we've been able to wait this long," he said. "We can wait a little bit longer but we will need to know soon on the final decision."

Red Bull, owned by Austrian energy drink billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, have Briton David Coulthard and Australian Mark Webber as their 2007 driver line-up.