RBR happy with Vettel contract length

Red Bull Racing says there is no rush to try and extend Sebastian Vettel's current contract, despite Ferrari tying down Fernando Alonso until the end of 2016

Alonso agreed on the eve of the Spanish Grand Prix to commit the next five years of his career to Ferrari - which effectively rules out another top-line driver like Vettel or Lewis Hamilton making the switch to the Italian team.

And although that situation boosts Red Bull Racing's chances of keeping Vettel on board beyond his current deal, which runs out in 2014, the team is happy to wait before thinking about extending his contract.

Speaking about the implications that the Alonso situation has had on Vettel remaining at Red Bull Racing, team principal Christian Horner said: "You only have to look at things and ask why would Sebastian want to leave at the moment?

"You can see how happy he is. You can see how comfortable in the environment he is and the kind of performance he is delivering.

"And that is the most fundamentally important thing - for a driver to be comfortable in the environment. And while he is comfortable, delivering and enjoying what he is doing - then hopefully the relationship will go on for a long time."

He added: "It is down to us. 2014 is a long way away. We love having Sebastian in the team, and he loves driving for the team, driving for Red Bull.

"He has grown up as a Red Bull junior and graduated through the programme. When the timing is right we will talk about the future, but we feel we addressed the relatively long-term future earlier this year."