Mercedes and Bose break up; Red Bull Racing strengthens with Poly

Red Bull enters into new partnership

In a press statement, Max Verstappen 's team says that although a victory in Formula 1 is often achieved by lightning-fast reactions from the cockpit and from the pit wall, the team depends just as much on its ability to have good connection between and with every aspect of the racing business; between driver and mechanic, garage and factory and between the different departments. To improve this process, Red Bull is teaming up with new partner Poly.

Team boss Christian Horner is delighted with the racing team's new partner: "Poly's excellent equipment for audio, voice and video communication will help us find that competitive edge we need to win." Given how close last season was between Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, a failure over the on-board radio or a connection that doesn't work in the heat of the moment could have disastrous consequences.

Who will win the 'communication battle'?

The new partnership is a good time to reflect on the incredibly foolproof technology that F1 teams have around them when it comes to communication. Red Bull Racing may recognize that it could potentially provide a slight advantage over rival Mercedes. Indeed, at the beginning of 2022, it became clear that the German racing team is going to lose its sponsors Bose and Epson and is therefore also looking for new equipment. Toto Wolff smashed his Bose headphones after he saw that Max Verstappen had won the world title. Millions of people saw the brand's logo well on display. Yet, the technology company decided to end the sponsorship partnership with Mercedes that had been running since 2015. That Wolff smashed a pair of headphones had nothing to do with it.