Red Bull to race Infiniti-branded engines in F1

The Renault engines used by reigning world champions Red Bull are set to be rebranded as ’Infiniti’ for the 2011 season.

Infiniti is the premium division of the Japanese carmaker Nissan, which is also headed by Renault chief executive Carlos Ghosn.

Speculation that Ghosn is keen to link the Nissan or Infiniti brands with formula one dates back years.

Some journalists, including Auto Plus columnist Jean-Louis Moncet, are reporting that the Red Bull-Infiniti tie-up for 2011 will be announced on Tuesday ahead of the Geneva Motor Show.

It is believed Ghosn, who is president and co-chairman of Nissan, will make the announcement.

The BBC speculated that the deal is worth at least $11 million to Red Bull, covering the cost of the team’s customer Renault engine supply.