Horner exit rumours ’stupid and unfair’

Gerhard Berger has dismissed as "stupid and unfair" speculation that Red Bull team boss Christian Horner could be set to lose his job.

Media reports, including in the German daily Bild, said the Briton risks being ousted because the team could lose this year’s drivers’ and constructors’ championships despite having easily the fastest car in 2010.

"The rumours are stupid and unfair," former grand prix winner Berger, a close friend of the energy drink company’s chief Dietrich Mateschitz, is quoted by Auto Bild Motorsport.

"Red Bull are in a position to win both the constructors’ and the drivers’ world championships. An unsuccessful season looks very different to that," the Austrian insisted.

Moreover, the report claimed Horner’s contract is tied to that of his countryman Adrian Newey, meaning that if Horner is ousted, Newey could leave the Milton Keynes based team as well.

Newey is credited as the designer of the widely-lauded RB6 car.

Berger’s dismissal of the rumour is ironic, given that it follows his suspicion that Mark Webber tried to take out his championship rivals after crashing in Korea.

Horner rejected that speculation as "ridiculous" and "absurd".