Ecclestone: I thought Mercedes and Red Bull had a deal

It appears that Red Bull have snookered themselves out of engine options for 2016 and beyond, although F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone was under the impression a deal has been struck between the energy drinks outfit and Mercedes.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Ecclestone said, "I thought and was told that Mr Lauda had made an agreement with Mr Mateschitz and they had a nice handshake when Niki confirmed they would be supplied with Mercedes engines."

At the same time the sport's biggest power broker revealed why talks between Ferrari and Red Bull have ended in a stalemate, "I understand [Red Bull] are being offered engines that are currently in use today and not the engines which will be used [by Ferrari] in 2016."

Ecclestone's inside information does not tally with what is being said from within the Mercedes camp, with chairman Niki Lauda claiming, "Christian and Helmut wrote us one letter to say they would like engines. I said 'yes, but first we have to discuss with Mr Mateschitz' because Mateschitz, for whatever reason, never liked Mercedes."

"There is something in the past which I do not know. So I went to see Mateschitz myself because I know him and asked 'are you really interested?' and he said 'yes, but, but, but...' And then out of this 'but, but, but' we never continued any talks," confirmed the F1 legend.

Meanwhile time is running out for Red Bull to find a competitive engine for next season in the wake of Renault signing a letter of intent to take over Lotus and return to Enstone to revert their F1 programme to a works team concern once again.

Red Bull on the other hand, who spent the past two seasons trashing their engine partner to the point of meltdown, have been increasingly vocal about withdrawing from the sport and clearly admitting that their involvement is purely from a marketing perspective.

Speaking in Japan, team pricipal Christian Horner said, "Red Bull’s position is different to teams such as McLaren or Williams or Ferrari. Formula 1 has to provide a return. A marketing return globally."

Clearly running in the midfield in marketing speak suggests that Red Bull 'does not give you wings' and with big boss Mateschitz disillusioned with the sport, the sell-by date for their F1 project may well be upon them.

Nevertheless the organisation has in its structure a potent operation in Milton Keynes and Horner, a racing man rather than a marketeer, appears not keen to throw in the towel.

"It’s my job to try and find a solution," declared Horner. "We have a big commitment to Formula 1 a big workforce, a very talented team and I’m doing my best to try and ensure that we find a competitive engine to power the team next year."