Christian Horner ensures that the Red Bull/AlphaTauri collaboration will not create a “pink Mercedes”

As part of a revamp that Christian Horner contributed to, the AlphaTauri will be relaunched by Red Bull in 2024. It will forge closer ties with its sister team and incorporate more parts from the reigning championship-winning outfit.

But this new, closer alliance has raised eyebrows in the paddock, as there are concerns that the collaboration could give an advantage to both teams, as they can share development ideas and shortcut solutions.

The rival teams have already expressed their concerns about this and have urged the FIA to closely examine what is happening to ensure that there is nothing unfair going on.

What is the Mercedes Rose affair?

During the pre-season testing in Barcelona in 2020, the Racing Point team, powered by Mercedes at the time, unveiled their new RP20, which was significantly different. They moved away from the concept similar to that of Red Bull, previously adopted by the team, and opted for something closer to Mercedes. A little too close, in fact.

Very quickly, in the paddock, the similarities between the Mercedes W10 from 2019 and Racing Point’s new F1 car were noted, to the point that the car was nicknamed the “Pink Mercedes”. It is even more surprising as Mercedes was collaborating with the team by providing the engine-gearbox assembly, as well as the suspensions, and letting Racing Point use its wind tunnel since 2019.

The rival teams finally protested against the design, and Racing Point was found guilty of violating the intellectual property rules with its rear brake ducts, resulting in a fine of 400,000 euros and a loss of 15 points in the constructors’ championship.

Horner wants to reassure the paddock

But Christian Horner insisted that nothing untoward was happening, and that the relationship between Red Bull and AlphaTauri would bear no resemblance to that between Mercedes and Racing Point, which resulted in the famous controversy over the “pink Mercedes” in 2020.

The Briton declared that what his team is doing with AlphaTauri is very different from what happened in the past. « We are far from a “pink Mercedes” », he announced. « There are certain transferable components that are clearly listed in the regulations that you are allowed to provide, and that’s what they get. ».

« When you look at the car, there are quite fundamental differences between this car and a Red Bull Racing car. And, without a doubt, there are other cars on the grid whose concept is much closer than an AlphaTauri. Just look at an Aston Martin or even a McLaren. If you look at the rear suspension of a McLaren, its concept is very similar to ours.

Horner throws the ball back to AlphaTauri

Horner also stated that AlphaTauri’s track performances were ultimately in his own hands, as the way it would develop from 2024 onwards would be decided at its Faenza factory.

« It depends on the quality of the individuals who will be part of the team, he said. « Of course, there are certain components that we can provide, as is the case with Mercedes and Ferrari who supply current Grand Prix teams with gearboxes, suspensions, simulation tools, and a wind tunnel. »

« Of course, it’s up to them to decide how they use these tools. You can see that McLaren has used these tools, in certain respects, better than their supplier did for half of the year. It’s really up to them to decide how they use what is allowed to them by regulations. »