Red Bull have announced a partnership with Nissan's luxury automotive brand Infiniti.
World champions forge link with Nissan's luxury brand
Red Bull have announced a partnership with Nissan's luxury automotive brand Infiniti in a move which reverses the recent trend of Japanese manufacturers leaving Formula One.
The two-year agreement, which was announced at the Geneva Motor Show and is believed to be worth at least £10million per annum, will see the Infiniti name feature heavily on the cars of the reigning world champions.
The deal comes about via Renault, which has supplied engines to Red Bull since 2007 and also enjoys a relationship with Nissan based on equity owned in each other's company.
It means Nissan are the first Japanese manufacturer to enter F1 since Toyota in 2002, although the latter ran a fully-fledged team before withdrawing seven years later.
Toyota's decision to depart came one year after Honda made the same move, with another Japanese giant, Bridgestone, halting its F1 tyre supply at the end of last season.
Besides the marketing aspect of the agreement, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stressed the additional technical resources it will give them to compete with their closest rivals.
Depth
"There are two elements to this relationship, with the first being a marketing benefit where we will be working closely with Infiniti to create more awareness for their brand," Horner said.
"But the more interesting and important aspect for Red Bull, moving forward strategically, is that as an independent team competing against the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes, the depth of technical resource they have is something we've not enjoyed.
"So this relationship opens those doors within Infiniti and Nissan, particularly as future technologies such as KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) become more dominant in Formula One.
"There are facilities within Infiniti and Nissan we can only dream of as an independent team, so an alliance like this allows us to tap into some of the key technical know-how.
"But it's a good news story for Red Bull and for Formula One that a prestige brand like Infiniti has chosen to come into the sport at a time when, in the recent past, manufacturers have elected to leave.
"It demonstrates that Formula One is in good health, and that it does still retain its global appeal."
Aggressive
Andy Palmer, senior vice-president of Infiniti, believes both his company and Red Bull can only prosper from the deal.
"We are using Red Bull as a marketing platform for a roll-out of its cars as we have a very aggressive growth plan for the Infiniti brand," said Palmer, who is to target Europe, Russia and Asia.
"In new areas where we are looking to improve our awareness, teaming up with Red Bull makes a lot of sense for us.
"Beyond that we have ambitions to work closer together on a technical front.
"Infiniti, and the greater Nissan group, brings a lot of technology with it, and that is the attraction from a Red Bull perspective."
