Bernie Ecclestone fears for Christian Horner as rumours swirl over Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull

Red Bull, for their part, released a statement earlier this week attempting to dampen talk of a possible departure.

If Newey did leave the team, it would represent a blow for Horner.

The duo have long had a close relationship, with Red Bull seeing Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen dominate at times over the past 15 years.

And Ecclestone, speaking to the Daily Mail mainly 'off the record', has apparently said talk of Newey leaving is 'hardly encouraging' for Horner.

The former F1 boss, 93, is extremely close with Horner.

They have been the best men at each other's weddings and speak often, despite Ecclestone no longer being a central figure in the sport.

If Newey does depart, it would also be intriguing to see what impact that would have on Verstappen.

The 26-year-old is the best driver in the sport these days, having won the last three F1 titles.

Yet Verstappen's own long-term future with Red Bull is currently shrouded in uncertainty.

Should Red Bull lose the services of arguably the best engineer in the sport, it could leave the Dutchman with a dilemma.

Mercedes continue to flirt with the idea of bringing in Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton set to leave at the end of the season.

Toto Wolf, speaking after last weekend's race in China, said: “Are we [able] to convince him?

"I don't think it's a matter of convincing, Max knows motor racing better than anyone. He will take decisions that he feels are good for him.

“And I think a few factors play a role but he's the one that is going to trigger some more domino stones to fall after but everybody is waiting for what he's going to do.”

Yet Horner was clearly unhappy with Wolff's comments and hit back at his rival by saying: “If you speak to Max - and it’s not about pieces of paper, we know he has a contract until the end of 2028, it's about how he feels in the team and the relationship he has in the team and the way he’s performing.

“I don’t think Toto’s problem is with his drivers, he’s got other elements that he needs to be focussing on rather than focussing on drivers that are unavailable.”

He continued: “I don’t know how many more times he [Verstappen] needs to say it, he’s said it numerous times.

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“I’m not going to get drawn into…I think sometimes it’s just designed to create noise.

"We moved ahead today of the races Mercedes has won in the modern era [117 in total for Red Bull, 116 for Mercedes excluding its nine 1950s wins].

"Of the teams in form, why on earth would you want to leave this team?

“Mercedes are the third team behind their customers [McLaren and Aston Martin] at the moment, so I think his [Wolff's] time would be better spent perhaps focussing on the team, rather than the driver market.”

Meanwhile, Horner, Newey, Verstappen and the rest of Red Bull are currently preparing for next Sunday's Grand Prix in Miami.

Verstappen has won the last two races in Miami, in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

A hat-trick would see him extend his lead over team-mate Sergio Perez, who currently sits second in the standings, with Charles Leclerc in third.