Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has poured some water on the claim of team advisor Helmut Marko that Toro Rosso will become essentially a test team for Honda for the rest of 2018.
As the Austrian energy drinks giant looks to put itself in the best position to remain competitive with the Japanese manufacturer next season, Marko had suggested that any upgrades will be open to test in the back of the STR13's even if it incurs penalties for their drivers.
However, Horner insists that does not equate to simply giving up on Toro Rosso's season, despite sitting eighth in the Constructors' Championship and having failed to score since Monaco.
"I don't think we'll be pushing them [Honda] to sacrifice Toro Rosso," he told Motorsport.com.
"Obviously there are opportunities to learn for the benefit of the group, which ultimately Toro Rosso will benefit from as well.
"That's obviously something that remains open, but of course Toro Rosso has their own fight with the constructors they're competing with, that obviously has significant value to them."
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The recent lack of results and Pierre Gasly's acknowledgement that Honda is holding the junior team back against particularly their Ferrari-powered rivals at Sauber are causing some to wonder if Red Bull is making the right move.
"You can see that the performance of the engine is pretty close to where we currently are with our current supplier," Horner said, referring to Renault with claims of both units losing a second in performance at Silverstone.
"Of course, Toro Rosso have been running varying amounts of downforce at the past couple of venues."
For the Red Bull boss, it remains the potential of Honda that is justifying the team's decision.
"They seem to have the right goals and targets," he said. "We're looking forward to working with them in a much more collaborative manner as we move into this new relationship."
