F1 | Wolff provokes Red Bull : “15 guys and an empty building” don’t make a winning Power Unit
Red Bull is preparing itself to build its own power unit but that doesn’t mean that Mercedes should worry. And Toto Wolff knows it.
Picking the top engineers by Mercedes’ F1 division could not be enough for Red Bull to build a winning power unit, Toto Wolff pointed that out in an interview with Motorsport.com. The new 2022 regulations and Honda’s decision to leave F1 in a close future helped Red Bull to try and create its own power unity and the Milton Keynes -based team just started to build a new factory to develop this new P. U. , while making a huge recruitment of engineers from everywhere, especially from Mercedes’ F1 division. The Silver Arrow does not seem worried, though, as it certainly knows best that building a strong engine is very demanding both economically and in development.
“We have about 900 people working in Brixworth," Mercedes Team Principal remarked. "They approached 100, and they got between 10 and 15, mainly manufacturing staff, no performance. And in that respect, if I were to build a new factory, I would also start [like that]. But between hiring two handful of people and having a full up and running competitive engine factory, there's quite a long way to go. I think Red Bull can do that, with the resource that is being put in, but Mercedes and the others have been in the sport for many decades, building the structure.”
What chills Toto even more, is the time, which looks to be clearly by Mercedes’ side. Red Bull has a brilliant task and a huge goal but it needs time and it is almost impossible to learn how to develop not only a decent engine but a Championship- winning one in so little time.
“So 15 guys and an empty building site construction is not going to be sufficient in order to be competitive in three years with a new power unit. –states Wolff - “ Having said that, we're taking them very seriously because they are a great team and have the finances to do so. But if we know one thing in Formula 1, it is that it needs time. No money can accelerate the learning curve."
We got you, @LewisHamilton. ⚫️🏆🙏 https://t.co/1CDSW0Y2WG pic.twitter.com/zXd5XL4smv
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 13, 2021
At this moment, the Austrian boss had to talk about Red Bull’s huge recruitment, which caused Mercedes a loss of a big number of staff people, tempted by a new, ambitious process and an enormous wage and Wolff replies that he feels happy of the major number of those who remained in Brixworth, loyally. “Internally it's quite good to see the really loyal ones, that have been approached, such an overwhelmingly larger number than the ones that were lured away,- he explained. - Seeing that loyalty and integrity in a way has confirmed the values of this group. There were some really good people that were approached. Lottery number pay cheques. And they haven't even thought about it twice. They stayed because they like the environment and they like what we stand for. It's a good environment, and we have proven that it is a good environment to work and to prosper. And that is just something that makes me very proud for the organisation in Brixworth."
Red Bull is really making a wonderful job to launch itself into this great adventure, which can be extremely interesting for the future but, as Toto Wolff pointed out, it needs more than a couple of projects to beat it, considering that Ferrari is not even close to this goal at the moment. On the other hand, a big regulation change is fastly approaching and might be useful to the Austrian team. To reach your dreams you surely have to start from somewhere, and Red Bull is just having quite a start.
