MONZA, Italy - Renault has for the first time declared Red Bull as an official works team.
Recently, amid a Red Bull-pressured restructuring of the struggling 'power unit' supplier, Cyril Abiteboul returned from Caterham to head Renault's preparations for a stronger 2015.
He admitted to Germany's Auto Motor and Sport that not making Red Bull its clear focus for the new turbo V6 era was a mistake by Renault.
CLEAR FOCUS
Abiteboul said: "Renault has tried in recent years to treat all four of its customers equally. From the perspective of Caterham, where I worked a year ago, it was nice. But for Red Bull it was counterproductive.
"So Abiteboul declared that, now, 'Renault's works team is called Red Bull'.
He dismissed claims that Red Bull had or intended to take over so much responsibility on the engine side that it was planning for a future with its very own 'power unit'.
Abiteboul said: "Red Bull is a chassis manufacturer and that's on what it intends to focus. Development of an engine is a far too complex to be established quickly but it is true that there will be a much closer integration between Red Bull and Renault."
It has been rumoured, for instance, that Red Bull will exclusively take over the entire electronic side of the project, with Renault remaining in charge of the engine.
Renault, Total and Red Bull's title sponsor Infiniti are expected to contribute the funding.
Abiteboul replied: "We are in the process of distributing the tasks as efficiently as possible. The question is where Red Bull can help us in the best way.
"The plan should be decided at the latest by October 2014."