Toro Rosso could be set for a major shake-up to its livery this or next season according to Helmut Marko, which could see yellow become a big part of its future.
It’s already been reported that Renault is considering a takeover of the Faenza based outfit to boost its marketing potential.
However with the French manufacturer unwilling to spend hundreds of millions of euros for success which is by no means guaranteed, they are exploring a far cheaper option of buying the rights to Toro Rosso’s livery.
“Renault are spending a lot of money on this power unit – not as much as Mercedes but a significant amount – and are confronted with the same issues that we [Red Bull] have: their F1 involvement has to pay off,” Marko told the official Formula 1 website.
“Add to that that Renault feels under-represented on the marketing side so there are considerations to either buy Toro Rosso or more likely give them a yellow livery to have a better marketing platform. But of course the figures have to correspond,” he added.
Meanwhile Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has backed the idea of Renault buying into the small team, belieiving it would provide an invaluable boost.
“I think this would be a fantastic opportunity for Toro Rosso to make the next step forward,” he said, “because the team wants to be established in the future within the first five in the constructors’ championship.
“To be part of a manufacturer – to be owned by a manufacturer – would be exactly [the] step forward the team needs to be established in the first five.”
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