Lights Out: Red Bull might have to get seriously creative

Red Bull don't want to drive with Renault power units any more, I think we can accept that as fact, nowadays. Christian Horner has dragged his feet into a trench over RBR's 2019 engine deal, determined to wait for as long as possible, to see if Honda can catch up with the French marque.

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul says a decision must be made by the end of this month. Horner says he wants to decide in June.

Perhaps worryingly for Horner, Honda motorsport boss Masashi Yamamoto has come out with a startlingly honest assessment of the Japanese company's ability to keep Red Bull in the hunt for victories, if they are on board next year.

"We have to consider many aspects very well," Yamamoto told Motorsport. "Can we really deal with Red Bull's size?"

Given Honda utterly failed to deal with a team the size of McLaren, the fears seem to be well-placed.

It could lead to some creative solutions, the sight of Max Verstappen 'Fred Flintstoneing' his way around Monza, propelling the car with only his feet, could be interesting.

One thing seems fairly likely, if Red Bull do take Honda power, it will see the exit of Daniel Ricciardo.

Horner as more or less admitted that Red Bull's choice of power partner is the remaining stumbling block ahead of Ricciardo deciding his future.

The Australian has been clear that he does not want to gamble with his future, can Red Bull afford to do so with theirs? It doesn't look likely.

MUST READ

• McLaren's redesigned MCL33 is "definitely faster" than the one which took to the first four races of the season.
• Mercedes are hoping that they can take to Formula E like they took to the hybrid era in F1. Look out.
• Pascal Wehrlein could be coming back to F1! Find out which team he's been linked to here.

MUST WATCH

???? EXTENDED CUT ????
Watch the extended version of #BehindTheWheel episode 1 with #Seb5 & #Kimi7! pic.twitter.com/5AYYwkvmsn — ShellMotorsportTeam (@ShellMotorsport) May 17, 2018