Horner shocked by Red Bull exit rumours

Christian Horner has vowed to do all he can to help Red Bull overcome their problems and expressed his shock at he was to be replaced as team principal.

Reports in the British media suggested that an unnamed rival team boss had called Horner to commiserate him for losing his job, while it was claimed that former Ferrari and McLaren driver Gerhard Berger - who is close Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz - would take over from Horner.

Red Bull for reliability in Formula One this season and have had particular problems with their Renault-powered engines.

However, Horner insists there has been no indication he will leave Red Bull and is determined to help the team improve.

"I was shocked. I had no idea people were talking about me that way," Horner told The Times.

"I have a long contract with the team. It is difficult, but I had dinner with Dietrich on Saturday evening and we still get along very well.

"We know we have problems, but we just have to work through them and I am here to do that job."

Red Bull topped the constructors' championship for four years running between 2010 and 2013, while Sebastian Vettel won the world championship on each occasion with the team during the same period.

However, having watched Mercedes dominate in recent times, Mateschitz has threatened to quit F1 unless there are changes to the sport's regulations.

"He's [Mateschitz] what he thinks. He ultimately is a fan, that's why he's committed so much of Red Bull's marketing to Formula One. The risk for Formula One is when someone like Dietrich starts to fall out of love with it," Horner added.

"That's a big worry because we need people like Dietrich to be engaged.

"He runs a multinational company and Red Bull does not exist because of Formula One. Formula One isn't generating the return and the coverage for of course he's going to raise questions about that."