Renault situation costing Red Bull millions - Marko

Red Bull’s slide down the constructors’ championship table is also hurting the team in the hip pocket.

That is the claim of Dr Helmut Marko, the Red Bull official who this week has fired rumours of a sensational switch from works Renault status to ’customer’ Ferrari power for 2016.

Team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, however, has immediately played down that possibility.

But Marko said going from the championship-winning glory years of 2010-2013, to second place in 2014 and now a further slide this season is hurting Red Bull financially.

"Second place to fourth place hurts us," he told Bild newspaper. "It will cost us some 20 million euros.

"With luck, it will stay that way, because Lotus and Force India also have that Mercedes engine."

That is undoubtedly why Marko suggested that a ’B’ Ferrari V6 is better than the works Renault, even if it would mean the reversion to mere customer status.

"The fact is that we cannot go two more years with this (Renault) engine," he insisted.

Mateschitz is threatening to pull out of F1 altogether, but also Renault is unhappy with Red Bull’s constant carping and is reportedly considering buying Lotus.

Bild said a ’crisis meeting’ between Red Bull and Renault is scheduled for 25 June.

Marko said: "We will get the results from their (Renault’s) latest tests and explain how they see the future. And then we will decide how we deal with it."

And he is not necessarily expecting the meeting to go smoothly.

"Our relationship with Renault is, to say the least, very tense," Marko admitted.