Red Bull’s legendary F1 car designer Adrian Newey pushed hard to score a Renault engine for 2007.

That is the admission of Mark Webber, who said in Melbourne at the launch of the 2007 Australian Grand Prix that he is buoyed by Newey’s confidence about the new engine supplier.

Red Bull was Ferrari powered in 2006. The Maranello built engine will be used by sister team Toro Rosso next year.

“Adrian was very, very keen to get that (Renault) engine - the package with that engine is very good,” said Webber.

Newey’s raft of championship winning Williams cars in the 1990s were powered by the French car manufacturer’s F1 units.

“The Renault engine is very, very strong,” Webber, who is switching from Williams to Milton-Keynes based Red Bull Racing, continued.

“(In Newey) we have got one of the best guys in the world, if not the best, working on the car.”

Red Bull’s 2007 car will be up and running in January, but Webber will test for the team for the first time later this month.

[GMM]

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