'Unhappy' Red Bull owner threatens to pull team out of F1

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has warned that his team may quit Formula One if he continues to be unhappy over the way the sport is being run.

Mateschitz's remarks followed Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo's exclusion from the Australian Grand Prix and the adoption of new rules.

According to the BBC, Mateschitz, who owns two F1 teams and has been instrumental in keeping the world rally championship alive through his company's investment, said that Red Bull's future in F1 was more 'to do with sportsmanship and political influence' than finance, adding that there is a 'clear limit' of what they can accept.

Hinting at the 'inappropriate politicisation' of the sport, Mateschitz said that the team has lodged a protest over F1's new rules as the fuel-flow sensor, given to the teams by the federation, gave divergent readings and is inaccurate although governing body FIA warned the team that all teams must stick to the readings given by the official sensor.

Mateschitz also criticised the new format of F1, both in terms of the use of a fuel limit and in the sound produced by the turbo hybrid engines, which are much quieter than last year's naturally aspirated V8s.