Red Bull: Drivers still free to fight

With the team having thrown away victory in Istanbul when Vettel and Webber crashed into each other during their battle for the lead, there has been intense focus on how the Milton Keynes-based outfit will bid to stop a repeat.

And although there had been some suggestions that Webber and Vettel would have strict orders imposed on them not to battle hard with each other, team principal Christian Horner has made it clear that the pair will be free to fight it out.

"Both drivers accept that it was a really bad outcome for the team and for themselves, and both lost out and both lost points," Horner said at the Canadian Grand Prix.

"But was it wrong to allow the drivers to race each other? I don't think it was. If we wanted processions we would tell the drivers after the start to hold positions. But that is not what Red Bull is about, and that is not what our beliefs of what grand prix racing should be about.

"Therefore, we will continue to allow our drivers to race each other - but expect that they respect each other as team-mates, as they have done on so many different occasions before."

Horner conceded that Red Bull Racing had learned lessons from both the incident and its handling of the events - when factions of the outfit initially blamed Mark Webber before conceding that both drivers were at fault.

"From a team perspective it is a voyage of discovery," he said. "We are still a young team, but the progress the team has made over the last five years is quite remarkable.

"To have two cars racing at the front and competing for a grand prix victory is testimony to the hard work and effort that has gone in at the factory and behind the scenes. You can always learn - from a team point of view, from an individual point of view and a driver point of view."

Horner is keen for his team to move on from the events of Turkey, and reckons that this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix will provide a benchmark for the balance of power over the remainder of the season.

"This circuit will be an interesting test for us," he said. "It is one that should play to the advantage of the Mercedes-powered teams and the teams with the F-duct - and we have neither!

"So we are going to have to look to extract lap time from our car in different ways. If we can be quick here then there should be no circuit we should be fearful of in the remainder of the championship."