Renault engines to power four F1 teams in 2014
Renault is expected to power four Formula One teams next season â€" with Red Bull's two teams already confirmed and Caterham and Lotus set to renew soon â€" Renault Sport F1 director Jean-Michel Jalinier said on Thursday.
The French car manufacturer, which has helped Red Bull take the last three constructors' titles, will supply the champions' sibling Toro Rosso next season when a new V6 rig replaces the existing V8. Williams, which uses Renault engines at present, is switching to Mercedes.
"We very likely will end up with four teams," Jean-Michel Jalinier told reporters at an event set up by the French car-makers' union. "The discussions with Lotus and Caterham have progressed. It's almost done with them, so there's a high probability that we end up with four [teams] in 2014."
Caterham is committed to Renault, although no formal agreement has been struck yet. The French manufacturer currently supplies Lotus, the former championship-winning Renault team.
Formula One is ditching the current 2.4 litre V8 engine at the end of this year for a new 1.6 litre V6 with turbocharger and energy recovery system. Renault will unveil the engine it has developed with Red Bull at next week's Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, Jalinier said. The deals will be announced shortly afterwards, he added.