Christian Horner has said he is happy to meet with Mark Webber in the wake of the team’s tumultuous British grand prix.
Australian Webber, who won at Silverstone on Sunday, said afterwards that he would not have signed with Red Bull for 2011 if he thought he was going to be teammate Sebastian Vettel’s number two.
But boss Horner said that if a similar situation arises in the future, he would once again take the decision to remove a new front wing from one car and attach it to the other.
Asked if this means he would receive the best parts at Hockenheim now that he is ahead in the championship, Webber told reporters: "I should do."
And reports have emerged that the civil war is threatening to move into the ranks of mechanics, after Webber’s crew took the ’old’ wing from the RB6 while packing up and waved it at Vettel’s side of the garage.
Vettel told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport: "The most important thing is the atmosphere within the team. We have a really strong car and the only thing that can stop us is ourselves."
Horner, describing Webber’s car-to-radio ’number two driver’ comment as a "throwaway line", said: "Of course we will talk about it, and if the air needs to be cleared it will be cleared.
"Mark hasn’t signed a contract as a number two driver. He knows the lengths the team has gone to, with the weight difference between the two drivers, to try and achieve parity."
Webber’s father Alan admitted on Sunday evening that he was "worried" about his son when he struggled to eat breakfast prior to the race.
The obvious implication is that the 33-year-old might be regretting his decision to sign up for another season.
"We have provided him with a car that has enabled him to run at the front, win grands prix and challenge for the world championship," said Horner. "I doubt very much that he is going to walk away from that."
The Briton expressed frustration as the reporters’ scrum broke, muttering: "We’ve just won the fucking British grand prix.
"He (Webber)’s been under contract for well over a month, so it goes without saying he will be here next year," added Horner.