Mercedes president Dieter Zetsche has claimed Red Bull never officially made an approach to Mercedes for a supply of power units for the 2016 season.
Following the fallout from Red Bull’s decision to end their contract with Renault a year early, Red Bull claimed they had requested the use of Mercedes power units for the 2016 season but Mercedes had decided against the move.
Red Bull then approached Ferrari, who would only supply them a 2015 specification unit, something Red Bull would not agree to, this led to them having to rekindle their relationship with Renault but at the loss of the Infiniti partnership.
“They never formally asked us for them,” Zetsche told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“There were discussions but there was never an official request.”
Zetsche admits he is hoping to see a battle between Mercedes and Ferarri in 2016 but he was not worried that the Italian team could take the title away from the current constructors’ champions.
“I wouldn’t say worried [about Ferrari], but it’s true that I would like to see a real battle between us and Ferrari for the title, with us on top,”
“A battle between the two teams would be great for F1.”
