“Our decision wasn't taken lightly, and after a lot of deliberation that was the position that unanimously and collectively the teams arrived at. Whilst it was a difficult decision to make, the FIA obviously made their position known and clearly felt, and I think unfortunately we found ourselves in a situation that the conditions of the entries that we looked to put in had been effectively rejected.

“I think the fundamental issue is the concept of entering a championship without the regulations fully sorted, without the governance issues that have been raised and discussed and agreed to be debated...being dealt with in advance. It's impossible to enter something and say 'we'll sort it out after you've entered.' I think the position was, it has to be sorted, clear, concise, for every member to enter the championship, rather than entering something with goodwill but no clarity, no guarantees, open to debate with other members – we don't even know who they are at the moment.

“Therefore, I think that's very much the position that we found ourselves in, that without that clarity, without those concrete compromises [and] solutions in place, it was an untenable position for the teams. Certainly from a Red Bull perspective we want to race against the best teams, against the best drivers, with the best sponsors in the world. If that cannot be Formula 1, then we will have to consider what the alternative is.

“I can only sympathise with the general public who must be, as Formula 1 fans, confused and to a certain degree dismayed with what is currently going on, [with] politics that are difficult to comprehend and understand. I think it has taken up far too much of not only our time but other people's time. We have got a wonderful championship this year, and Formula 1 should be all about what happens on the track.”