Helmut Marko once created a ‘mess’ for Red Bull with Renault engines after meetings with Niki Lauda

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Red Bull has dominated most of the hybrid era since the move to ground effect cars, but it was not always smooth for the Milton Keynes squad.

When the current power units came into effect in 2014, Red Bull was being supplied by Renault. It was a successful partnership in previous years, having enabled the team to win the title with Sebastian Vettel for four years in a row.

But at the start of 2014, they were on the back foot compared to Mercedes. They were unstoppable while Renault faced a lot of reliability issues, in part due to the lack of experience with making hybrid power units at their plant in Viry Chatillon.

After a series of retirements and disappointing results, Red Bull grew frustrated and was seeking a way out of their partnership.

This is where Helmut Marko attempted to do a deal with the help of his friend Niki Lauda, but it would cause the team a few headaches, according to journalist Ben Anderson, when speaking on the Bring Back V10s podcast.

Helmut Marko cost Red Bull more money when he tried to do a deal with Mercedes

When Red Bull sought to replace Renault, the only problem was that no other team wanted to supply them through fears they would beat their works outfit on track.

According to Anderson, Helmut Marko tried to do a deal with Mercedes before the rules were changed that forced power unit manufacturers into having a minimum number of teams they can supply.

“[Helmut] Marko was causing trouble by having lots of meetings with his mate, Niki Lauda, and they were feeling like they could get a Mercedes deal over the line, hoping that it would all go away. It was like, ‘If we can get a good engine, then all of this noise will go away. But if we have to stay stuck with this terrible Renault engine, then we want to make a big fuss to try and get something’,” said Anderson.

“Eventually, the rules did change because now there’s a needlessly complicated formula to decide who gets an engine if no one will supply you. But Red Bull drove that because when they came to the point where they definitely wanted to get rid of Renault, nobody would supply them an engine. So in the end, Renault got a really good deal out of all of this mess because they got Red Bull to overpay for engines that they were going to give them anyway.”

READ MORE: Who is Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko? Everything to know

What happened to Red Bull’s partnership with Renault?

It would last another six seasons between Renault and Red Bull, although their power units would go through various name changes.

Red Bull firstly rebadged them as Tag Heuer engines, then they would later use the Aston Martin brand before it came onto the grid as a team entity.

The Milton Keynes outfit would later switch to Honda power units for the 2021 season, which brought them back to title-winning ways with Max Verstappen.

From the 2026 season, Red Bull will be making their own power units with the help of Ford, who will be providing the electrical element. As for Renault, they have now closed their Viry Chatillon plant after over 50 years and will be a customer team with Alpine from 2026.