Red Bull has again threatened to quit F1 if it is not able to secure a competitive engine in the near future.
By its own high standards, Red Bull has had a disastrous start to the season and has firmly pinned the blame on the performance of its Renault power units. The Spanish Grand Prix was the first of the year at which a Renault internal combustion engine did not expire, but the performance of the Red Bulls and Toro Rossos was visibly lacking on the straights due to their power deficit to Mercedes and Ferrari.
Helmut Marko, the right-hand man of Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz, has warned Renault that the team will look to Audi to supply engines if the situation does not improve, although admits no "official" talks with the VW Group, which owns Audi, have taken place.
"If we don't have a competitive engine in the near future, then either Audi is coming or we are out," Marko told the BBC. "There are so many rumours. Officially there was no request or talks.
"The VW Group first has to sort out who will be the new chief of support, who will run the brand of VW, and when they have sorted all these things maybe then they can think about what they are doing in motorsport."
Talk of the VW Group entering a brand into F1 has intensified since Ferdinand Piech resigned as its chairman last month after losing a power struggle with chief executive Martin Winterkorn. Piech has long been viewed as the reason the company's brands have not entered F1, with Audi and Porsche focusing their efforts on the World Endurance Championship while VW competes in rallying. However, it remains to be seen if the change at the top will see the company embark on an expensive foray into F1 with no guarantee of success against the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes.
When asked directly if Red Bull is planning to pull out of F1, team principal Christian Horner added: "We want to try and sort the issues out. It is not enjoyable being in a GP today when you are just going round. The determination is to get back. The problem and frustration we have is not all of it is in our hands. We are relying on our partner and all we can do is support them as best we can to make the necessary steps."