Red Bull Receives Budget Increase Due to Infiniti Engine Deal

Formula One team Red Bull Racing has received a financial boost in the region of £7m (US$11.36m) ahead of the 2011 season after their Renault engines were renamed Infiniti, improving the team’s budget. 

Infiniti is the premium brand of Nissan, part owned by Renault, and are using Formula One to boost its global profile. 

The engines will remain the same, aside from the branding, with the only other difference being that they will be supplied for free.

The renaming will therefore save the team approximately £6.8m ($11m) per annum, which is the cost of all customer engine supplies in the sport. 

The saving is estimated to be around 4-5 per cent of the team’s total budget which will now be used in other departments, though no statement has been made on whether there will be further financial support from the deal.

The Red Bull-Infiniti deal is expected to be officially announced at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday.