Infiniti Exits Red Bull Racing As Team Switches To TAG Heuer-Branded Renault Engines

Infiniti and Red Bull Racing will discontinue their partnership at the end of the 2015 season, one year before their contract was supposed to end. While the F1 team will continue to use Renault engines, the new power units will wear TAG Heuer badges.

When we talked to Red Bull's Team Principal Christian Horner about their engine problems and the future of Red Bull Racing this summer at the Festival of Speed, he probably had no idea what was coming as they got closer to the season finale. Rumors of them switching to Ferrari or Mercedes power, as well as getting bought by Volkswagen, hit the news long before Bernie Ecclestone could even threaten to sue them if they leave F1 before 2020.

Humorously enough, Red Bull secured a new deal with Renault in the end, but since the 2016 power units will be jointly developed by British company Ilmor in order to get them up to speed, Red Bull's engines will be badged as TAG Heuer's after the luxury watchmaker left McLaren, ending a 31-year partnership with Woking.

While Renault will run its own factory team in 2016 after buying Lotus, Infiniti's departure from Red Bull means that "Nissan will not provide light commercial vans to Red Bull Racing anymore."

Shame. I always wondered what Ricciardo could do with an NV200.

Photo credit: Getty Images Sport

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