Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has defended owner Dietrich Mateschitz' threat to walk away from the sport.

Ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, the Austrian, not known for talking to the media, admitted that unless his team became more competitive he would consider withdrawing from the sport.

While some see this as the tantrum of a bad loser, a 'toys out of the pram' moment, Horner insists that Mateschitz fully appreciates the benefits of F1 and doesn't really want to leave the sport but merely be competitive again.

Following another difficult weekend which saw Daniil Kvyat retire just 15 laps into the race, smoke billowing from the rear of his car following an engine failure, and Daniel Ricciardo struggle to finish ninth, Horner defended Mateschitz' comments.

"If you look carefully at his comments, he is encouraging Renault to step up and do the job properly," said the Briton, according to {i]BBC Sport.

"There are a lot of talented people in Viry," he continued, referring to the French manufacturer's HQ in France. "They have a great heritage and they are better than what we are seeing. It's a question of how you respond to the situation you're in.

"It's a long season but hopefully at the end we will look back and say this is a low point but we recovered that situation," he added. "Ferrari in six months since Abu Dhabi have done a super job so it demonstrates what is possible in a relatively short period of time."

"There is no issue with Red Bull," said Renault's Cyril Abiteboul, "in the sense that they are a team that wants to be extremely successful. They are impatient to be back in a winning position, as we were two years ago. So we understand that, and their frustration. We are a supplier but we are also racers and also extremely frustrated. It is about supporting each other, not dragging each other down, but we want to deal with it together."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kiwi2wheels, 15/04/2015 9:28

"If you want to be competitive and your engine supplier has dropped the ball, you sure as hell aren't going to be reassured when the suppliers " talking head " issues platitudes ;

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/217627/1/renault-wont-rush-token-spend-despite-deficit.html

Not the attitude, which should be " fix it and fast ". I state that from experience. The clown has admitted they knew there are weaknesses in the PU. I get the feeling that Cyril Biteball is ignoring Rob White and acting like a typical French bureaucrat. Their engines are as reliable as a politicians promise. "

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2. Posted by F One, 14/04/2015 17:34

"And regarding them switching engine suppliers, who in their right mind would want to supply them if they place all the blame on the engine no matter that their car is a dog?"

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3. Posted by F One, 14/04/2015 17:31

""Waaaah if I can't win I won't play!"
Red Bull are beyond pathetic! The sooner they leave the better."

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4. Posted by Darvi, 14/04/2015 15:05

"Red Bull are getting their bottoms kicked by their sister team with a couple of talented rookie drivers and the same PU - end of. Meethinks this is a diversionary tactic to take the pressure off the fact that this years Red Bull is a bit of a dog."

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5. Posted by Hondawho?, 14/04/2015 11:00

"1. Posted by gturner38, 12 hours ago

"If Mateschitz is just trying to spur on Renault, I would think threatening to change engine manufacturers would be the way to go rather than threatening to quit the sport

You are right, the issue is: whose engine would they use? There is not currently an engine supplier who is willing it seems to support them and that maybe the reason why the quote is "quitting the sport" rather than 'looking for a new engine supplier'.

We then come back to the pain issue facing the sport, and that very few suitable engine suppliers now think F1 is what is used to be or even has a future perhaps?

IMHO!"

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6. Posted by gturner38, 13/04/2015 22:28

"If Mateschitz is just trying to spur on Renault, I would think threatening to change engine manufacturers would be the way to go rather than threatening to quit the sport. Having said that, until the Red Bulls consistently beat the Toro Rossos, nobody at RBR has reason to point fingers at the engine."

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7. Posted by Paul C, 13/04/2015 21:34

"P-U! What an appropriate term for the load of technical hybrid trash bolted to a current F1 car. Enlarge the ICE to 2 liters, keep the turbos and the DRS. These are relatively simple compared to the rest. Use the available space in the car for a REAL fuel cell. 100 liters is fit for a Mini or a Fit, not an F1 car. Make it simpler and let the tech wizards of F1 loose. As for the tracks, redesign all of those Tilke saloon/kart tracks. The only good one was Turkey's track, but rework all of those stupid right-left complexes in the first two turns. Boring! Keep and retro engineer the classic circuits (ie Monza's first chicane) and bring back Imola. Save carbon emissions with less travel not less racing. F1 needs to mostly be in Europe. "

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8. Posted by Jensen541, 13/04/2015 16:25

"The entire F1 circus is to blame for this situation - the current engines are the result of Todt's abrogation of his leadership, the manufacturers thinking, as they said, that this would lower their engine costs and Bernie for not ensuring the fans got to see real racing with proven V8 or V10. These engines are more trouble than they're worth you guys. We have some great racing talent right now among the ex-champs at the older end of the scale and young hot-shoes at the younger who are not racing each other as they should with a proper engine behind them and tyres that last longer than 5 minutes if they press on. And that's not counting the problem of passing an F1 car sprouting wings the size of an A380. I don't even want to get into the problem of bland Tylke tracks at the loss of great tracks in Europe. You F1 guys should realise that the fanbase is rapidly falling away due to a combination of these factors. And I've not even mentioned the stupid imbalance of finance distribution."

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9. Posted by CL, 13/04/2015 13:08

"To the money boys at the top, F1 is a marketing tool just like any other, and if the marketing return metrics come in unfavourably compared to all their other marketing tools then why waste money on it? Sure, this kind of statement can be seen as a threat if you want to, and is politically expedient to make every now and then, but I'd be surprised if there isn't an annual meeting where the cost of F1 vs. the returns in brand/sales vs. the cost of dumping all their contracts is weighed purely on the effect on the bottom line, and if it comes out unfavourably then it needs to be justified. Maybe this is the first year they have had to justify it. Corporate types get all nervous when that happens."

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10. Posted by Spindoctor, 13/04/2015 11:48

"It's worth noting that the RBR car is hardly the pick of the crop.
Renault's PU is clearly lacking, but the car is part responsible for the lousy performance.

A brief look at McLaren would show both Christian & Dietrich Mateschitz how a "proper" F1 team responds to adversity: not by calling for its' competitors to be hobbled, but by trying harder."

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11. Posted by scf1fan, 13/04/2015 11:04

"We get it Mr. Horner, we really do. There is no need for you to "defend" Mr. Mateschitz's position. Do either of you think for one moment that Renault is intentionally trying to do their job improperly? (If so, then buy another power unit, or develop your own! You would already have a 2 team customer base for such a PU. What? RB has enough money/interest to "buy" F1 but not enough to develop a PU? (Perhaps in conjunction with some other engine manufacturer?) Please!!) The threat to "walk away" from a sport simply because you aren't being as successful as you were is simply un-sportsman like."

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Horner defends Mateschitz comments

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