Aston Martin is set to increase its involvement with the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team by becoming the four-time world champion’s title sponsor for the 2018 season.
The British carmaker says the expanded partnership, which has already spawned the yet-to-be-released Valkyrie hypercar, will see the opening of a new Advanced Performance Centre at Red Bull Racing’s campus in Milton Keynes, creating 110 jobs.
There’s no word on what future products the two companies will work on, but Autocar says more limited-edition models similar to the track-focused Valkyrie could be on the horizon.
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Aston Martin also says it will “evaluate the opportunity to be involved in the team’s power unit from 2021 after being asked by the FIA to join discussions on future engines for F1”.
Andy Palmer, the firm’s chief executive, says: “The power unit discussions are of interest to us but only if the circumstances are right.”
“We are not about to enter an engine war with no restrictions in cost or dynamometer hours but we believe that if the FIA can create the right environment we would be interested in getting involved”, he said.
Red Bull Racing uses Renault engines to power its cars, but Auto Express says the relationship between the two “has become fractious over the past few seasons with the French company’s F1 hybrid engine lagging behind the performance offered by rivals Mercedes and Ferrari.”
However, the magazine says Renault “has decided to end its relationship with Red Bull”, leaving the door open for Aston Martin to become more involved with the four-time champions.
