Horner expects improved Coulthard

Red Bull Racing sporting director Christian Horner has backed David Coulthard to be better than ever this season after his career-rejuvenating performances of 2005

Horner has nothing but praise for the way that Coulthard approached his switch to Red Bull Racing after his nine years at McLaren, and believes that the Scotsman will improve on his form in 2006.

"I think David really enjoyed driving for Red Bull Racing and that reflected in his performances," said Horner, speaking on stage at the Autosport International Show.

"He is more relaxed, has tremendous experience and is one of the most successful drivers out there. He has been an asset and has led development for us.

"His performances last year were very strong and he was unlucky not to get on the podium in Monaco, Australia or the Nurburgring.

"So we are looking to build on that for next year. David is only 34 and he still has a great deal to offer."

Horner believes that one of Coulthard's biggest strengths was his ability to help lead the team's development programme, which allowed them to make steady progress during the course of 2005.

"He was giving us direction and with his wealth of experience he helped identify what we needed to do," added Horner. "Our engineers worked well with him during the year, we managed to strengthen the team, and that has been a good part of the process."

Horner admits that Red Bull Racing exceeded their own expectations with their performances last year - but he is confident that they can do even better as a whole this season.

"Red Bull's first year in F1 was a definite success and has given us a great platform from which to move forward from. We exceeded expectations from when I stood here 12 months ago and said we would like to grab opportunities and punch above our weight.