Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says he fears Renault and Honda will be unable to catch up to rivals Ferrari and Mercedes before the new 2021 engine is introduced, but insists his team will do all it can to bridge that deficit with its chassis.
Renault has struggled to keep development pace with Ferrari and Mercedes on the power unit side, which has left its customers and its own works team with a power deficit, whilst Honda, which joined the sport later than its rivals, has endured miserable reliability and performance, which is forcing its sole customer McLaren to look elsewhere for an engine deal.
Red Bull was in the same boat at the end of the 2015 season when it angled for a divorce with Renault, but was unable to find an alternative, forcing the team to remain with the French manufacturer.
That has seen both teams struggling to match Ferrari and Mercedes, and Horner is not confident that the problem will be resolved before the new engine is introduced in 2021, meaning more of the same dominance from the leading operations.
"We'll never accept that we can't be competitive so we'll keep pushing and keep developing and try and make up whatever horsepower deficit there is on the chassis side," Horner told Sky Sports F1.
"But the reality is, those two manufacturers [Ferrari and Mercedes] have such a march, such committed investment, it's difficult to see how the others will catch up in the intervening period between now and 2021."
Post-2021, Horner believes matters will improve as a switch to simpler engine technology could see other manufacturers becoming involved and therefore opening up the competition
"I think there are iconic manufacturers who would be keen to come in if it was affordable," added the Briton. "Aston Martin being one of them, Lamborghini attending meetings. So long as you have Ferrari there, so long as you have historic teams like McLaren and Williams and so on, and other manufacturers like those I've mentioned were to come in. I think it's all about the spectacle.
"Manufacturers have always come and gone in F1 whenever it's suited them. I think the most important thing is to get the product right, get the show right, and then it's up to the manufacturers to be there or not."
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