06/10/2015
NEWS STORY
Its divorce from Renault seemingly final, Mercedes having found a new partner and Ferrari, reportedly, not willing to supply the latest spec engines, other than Honda, Red Bull's options for 2016 are seriously limited.
Consequently, the team is considering ventures other than F1 for its workforce.
"If we were to face a situation that we could not continue in grand prix racing, we would have to look for alternative activities, for sure," says Horner, according to Motorsport.com. "At Milton Keynes we have a lot of very talented people. We would have to find a way to exploit their talents elsewhere.
"Of course, my staff is worrying about the future," he admits. "But I keep telling them, 'Please continue working and don't worry about things you cannot control'".
Though the clock is ticking, and most rival teams are already focussing on next year, Horner insists it is not too late, all is not lost.
"We are in October already. Over at Milton Keynes our engineers already shuffle their feet," he admits. "They want and need to know what is going to happen with our RB12 car.
"When do I want to have a solution? Two weeks ago! Adrian Newey told me; 'Christian, we need an answer and soon. I know what happens with the front and the rear parts of the car. But we need to know what will happen in between'.
"You have to bear in mind: it's not only about the engine. We also have to think about cooling and this has an influence on the design of the sidepods, for example, as has the gearbox on the rear design."
Meanwhile, Horner, Newey, the team, its drivers and its fans wait on the decision of team owner, Dietrich Mateschitz.
"In the end, Dietrich Mateschitz is the one to make the decision," says Horner. "However, it's my job to get to work as soon as we know what engine we will get. But at the moment we still don't know. It's clear that by now the other teams have an advantage over us. But the quality at Red Bull is so high that we would be able to cope with that.
"Everybody is highly motivated and we want to win again," he adds. "But equally we don't want to continue with the form we've had for one and a half years now."