Red Bull's Marko slams Horner exit rumours

Jun.24 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has slammed rumours Red Bull is set to oust its F1 team boss Christian Horner.

Briton Horner has already dismissed the rumours about him being replaced by F1 legend Gerhard Berger, insisting he has a "long contract" and a good relationship with Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz.

And now Marko, Mateschitz's right-hand man and, like Berger, a fellow Austrian, said of the rumours: "That's all absolute nonsense.

"Whoever put that rumour into the world plucked it completely out of thin air. It is simply not true," he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

The rumours, however, contend that Berger, 55, has been stalking the paddock recently in search of a new job, having sold his stake in Toro Rosso some years ago and stepped down as the FIA's junior single seater chief.

Asked if he can imagine a job helping F1 to solve its problems, he insisted: "No.

"We have a very competent FIA president and a super-successful top executive in Bernie Ecclestone.

"When the two combine their powers, they will soon have the problem under control," he told the Austrian news agency APA.

Interestingly, Horner has also been linked with a top job in F1 management.

"I see it this way," the Briton told Bild newspaper. "I have a commitment to this team (Red Bull) for many more years.

"My mission is to bring Red Bull back to the top. But it's true that you can't always predict what will happen in the future," Horner added.

Also fascinatingly, Berger's fellow F1 legend Alain Prost is also not ruling out a return to a management role in the sport.

The Frenchman told the broadcaster Canal Plus that returning to F1 is "not impossible".

Prost is already an ambassador for Renault, Red Bull's troubled works engine supplier. Berger said: "I see no sign that Renault is doing what it needs to do to get out of this situation."

And he added it is "absolutely conceivable" that the situation could cause Red Bull to quit F1.