Red Bull to supply Lotus with gearboxes

Lotus will source its gearbox and hydraulics system from Red Bull Technology in 2011, rather than Renault as had been widely assumed.

In fact Renault was never in a position to supply a transmission to go with its engine, and at one stage Lotus was looking at a deal with McLaren – although when I suggested as much on Twitter a few weeks ago I got a few sceptical replies! However the RBT arrangement is clearly preferable as both teams will use the same engine and Lotus will in effect share the whole rear end of Adrian Newey’s RB7.

The news also emphasises that RBT wants to create as much extra income as possible, rather than rely on a massive subsidy from Austria as mentioned in my story yesterday.

Like the other new teams Lotus has suffered badly with its bought-in hydraulics system this year, and did not want a repeat next season.

In a team statement Mike Gascoyne said:“The announcement that we have reached a multi-year agreement with Red Bull Technology for the supply of our gearboxes and hydraulics from 2011 is obviously a massive step forward for us, both in engineering terms, and as an expression of our ambitions for next year and for future Championships. The gearbox/hydraulics package obviously plays a critical role in the performance of the car, not just on track but in design and packaging terms, and this deal gives our design and aero teams a very exciting platform to work with.

“The removal of the double diffusers in 2011 will allow the whole grid to tighten up the rear bodywork and mechanical structures around the gearbox, and this supply deal will allow us to capitalise on that with our 2011 car. Exciting times lie ahead!”

Christian Horner added: “We are very pleased about Lotus Racing’s decision to use Red Bull Technology gearboxes and hydraulic systems from 2011. The fact that Red Bull Technology has been chosen to be a supplier to another team despite its short history demonstrates how much we have achieved since our first season. We very much look forward to working with Lotus Racing from 2011 onwards.”