Ferrari's Maurizio Arrivabene criticises Red Bull for quit threat

Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene said it is the nature of F1 to have strong and weak seasons

Ferrari have criticised Red Bull for threatening to quit Formula 1 because they are not winning.

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz said this week engine supplier Renault's lack of competitiveness was affecting his desire to stay in Formula 1.

Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene said: "It is easy to be happy when you win four championships and easy to complain when you are not winning.

"You have to accept when something goes wrong and when it goes right."

Red Bull won four consecutive drivers' and constructors' world titles from 2010 to 2013 but have struggled since the start of the new turbo hybrid engine era last year because Renault have been left behind by Mercedes.

Arrivabene said fluctuating competitive cycles for different teams are a fundamental part of the sport.

"F1 is like this," Arrivabene said. "You could have a couple of years when you are winning and a couple when you are losing and this is the beauty because if everything is predictable it is not a race, it is something different."

Mateschitz said of Renault: "They take from us not only time and money but also the will and motivation.

"There is no driver and no chassis which is able to compensate for this lack of horsepower."

And he reiterated a threat Red Bull could quit the sport if they cannot get a competitive engine.

"You cannot force someone to stay when he wants to leave," Mateschitz said, speaking to the Speed Week website he owns.