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Christian Horner says it's "crazy" that a driver of the calibre of Esteban Ocon could be left without a Formula 1 seat.
In the next days or weeks, the Frenchman is expected to lose his place at Force India to Lance Stroll, whose father Lawrence has bought the team.
Ocon seat in the air
Options at Renault, McLaren and Sauber have run aground, and Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso is also out of the question for now.
READ: Stroll admits ousting Ocon 'not fair'
"It's crazy that a driver like Esteban risks not having a seat next year. But for him at the moment it's not helpful that he's a Mercedes-contracted driver.
If he was released, he would be an obvious candidate for Toro Rosso, but we cannot invest in a young man tied to one of our opponents, and I think that if the roles were reversed it would be exactly the same," Red Bull Racing chief Christian Horner is quoted by Sky Italia.
On Twitter, 21-year-old Ocon admitted that he has struck a "tough situation" in his career.
"As you know there was no easy way throughout my career. I can promise you that it's not at this moment that I will give up. Motivation is high and my old rivals are in top cars which makes me hungrier than ever.
I dream F1, I train F1, I eat F1, I play F1, I think F1. I'm born to race and my only goal is to be champion and always will be," Ocon said.