Red Bull are ready to run a third car according to team principal Christian Horner should they be called upon to do so by Bernie Ecclestone.
The idea of third cars has been talked about for years, but never has the proposal looked like a reality until now.
The collapse of Caterham and Marussia has reduced the grid to just 18 cars which is dangerously close to the 16 car limit which would enact a regulation for top teams to run three cars rather than two.
Should that happen, Red Bull are ready to fulfil the need, though Horner admits it would be “painful” with such short notice.
“I hope that Marussia and Caterham get their act together,” Horner told the official Formula 1 website.
“If not, and we had to run a third car, we would be in a position to,” he added. “But we will need to know pretty quickly – it’s already November. Logistically it would be painful, but if we are called upon to do it then yes, we would be able to support it.”
Speaking about Sebastian Vettel’s decision to leave for Ferrari – leaving the Italian team with three drivers as Fernando Alonso has yet to announce his plans – Horner joked that the team had predicted three cars and prepared well.
“Maybe they’ve [Ferrari] just been very smart and anticipated three-car teams! It is just that the third driver should be a rookie and it is difficult to say who will be the rookie out of the three champions they have signed.”
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