Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says the current engine regulations limiting teams to four power units per season are unrealistic.
Having been restricted to five power units in 2014, the regulations became even more strict this year as teams were forced to use only four across what was originally planned to be 20 races. Though the German Grand Prix won't happen, 19 races still seems too much of a challenge for some teams and reverting to five engines for this year has been discussed.
With Daniel Ricciardo set to use his fourth power unit in Spain, Horner says the current rules need to be changed to a "more realistic" level.
"It is frustrating," Horner told the official Formula One website. "For sure we are going to use more than four - we’ve used three in three races - so the chances of us staying within the limit of four is close to zero. The teams agreed unanimously in Malaysia to introduce a fifth engine, but the engine penalties will affect others too - not only us.
"For us we would need that number to increase to seven, eight or nine engines for the season. Unfortunately these are the rules and we are not looking great within these rules. Hopefully these rules will become more realistic in the future."
And Horner admits it could be a long time before Red Bull is competitive again as it works with Renault to try and fix its issues.
"To be realistic: our problems are not short term so there will not be any short-term fixes. We have to take a bit of a pain at the moment. And if that is the foundation for a better future then you’ve got to take the pain."
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