According to Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen has a clause in his contract that means the team is 'obliged' to give him a competitive engine. Something Horner later contradicted again. So this was discussed at the press conference for team bosses, but Horner doesn't go too deep into it. He does state that Verstappen is still 100 percent committed to the team.
Competitive motor needed
Horner: "We obviously we don’t want to go in the details of the drivers contract. That’s private and confidential between the driver and the team. What I can tell you is that Max is totally commited to the team, he’s in the same situation as us. We don’t want to go soapbox racing in the future."
The noses are pointing in the same direction: "We need an engine, we need an competitive engine. He needs a competitive engine to achieve you know, the succes that we believe he is capable of and he still believes very much in this team that the team can achieve that success."
"We’re in the same boat. And as I say, that boat need a competitive engine," says Horner, who doesn't go into the clauses that may or may not be there. "You probably do need a boat this weekend if you look at the weather outside though."