Many F1 insiders knew that the Red Bull Racing team were looking at switching to Mercedes power for the 2010 Formula One championship season, the Milton Keynes based squad looking to replace their Renault power unit in favour of what is undoubtedly the best engine on the grid.

However, while Mercedes could have supplied them, they needed the unanimous approval of their other customer teams, Brawn, Force India and McLaren and speculation as that this approval was not forthcoming, leaving Red Bull to remain with Renault for at least another season.

Speaking to the Austrian press, Dr Helmut Marko, claimed that the reason Red Bull didn’t get Mercedes power was because the others were scared that if they did, they would take the 2010 hands down.

"They didn't want us. Without being arrogant, they knew that if we had that engine, they wouldn't see us."

Even without the Mercedes powerplant, Sebastian Vettel showed that they were a team to be feared when in Bahrain he pulled out pole position and a strong lead before his car suffered spark plug failure, dropping him to fourth.