Red Bull team boss Christian Horner fears for survival of F1's smaller teams

F1 2020

Horner fears for survival of F1's smaller teams

The global emergency may severely impact the sport

Ian Parkes

Tuesday 31 March 2020 15:58

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has warned that not all Formula 1 teams may survive the current global emergency.

F1 and the teams are facing an unprecedented situation in the motorsport's illustrious 70-year history, and like all businesses around the world, they are unsure as to what the future holds.

While Horner is confident F1 as a sport will continue, he cannot say the same with regard to some of his team's fellow competitors.

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"F1 is a very strong business and it's got enormous heritage," Horner told the BBC. "F1 will survive this.

"Whether all the teams survive this is another matter, and it is the responsibility of all the team principals to act with the interests of the sport and all its participants (in mind), to do our best to ensure all 10 teams come out the other side."

Comparing the situation to the global credit crisis of 2008, Horner added: "The difference in 2008 was we were still racing, there was still a calendar, there were still events. You could see the issue more clearly, whereas here we are more blind.

"When will we start racing again? It's a different scenario. 2008 had its pressures and the people in the room at that time - Ron Dennis, Flavio Briatore and so on - were thinking about the interests of the sport and it is crucial we do that collectively at this time.

"The world is a different place at the moment. Of course, revenue is hit very hard. We don't know how hard it will hit F1 yet.

"All the teams have been reacting responsibly and collectively. Obviously some teams are more exposed than others, particularly the small ones, and it's important that we try our best to protect the F1 community as best we can."

Horner, meanwhile, has exonerated motorsport advisor Helmut Marko following his 'coronavirus camp' suggestion.

Marko floated the idea of setting up a camp for the four senior drivers - Max Verstappen, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat - along with the juniors would become deliberately infected with the coronavirus to ensure when they returned to racing they would not be concerned with the contagion.

Marko conceded his idea "has not been well-received".

Horner said: "As Helmut pointed out, when he raised it, it wasn't received with support from within Red Bull. It was in many ways a throwaway comment before understanding the seriousness of the pandemic.

"Red Bull, yes, they have many athletes but the focus regarding all the actions that are going on at the moment is that this can affect young people, old people, vulnerable people.

"It is not a limited sector this applies to. So things like the ventilator project we are working on demonstrate how seriously we are taking this and how much effort's going behind it.

"Helmut's comments were made before understanding the severity. It has never been discussed or tabled as a serious suggestion."