Q & A with Christian Horner

Christian Horner: Yes. It was a front right track rod that failed. It was a brand new component fitted after Melbourne. We have done over 10,000 kilometres of testing with identical components. You can see that the adhesives failed and it just looked like a human error. So we have absolutely no concerns about the car's safety for tomorrow.

Q. Why didn't you run David Coulthard in the second session?

CH: We just wanted to make sure that the car, having taken a sizeable impact, was safe. We wanted to check all of the chassis. Ultrasonically you check it for any cracks and any damage to the carbon fiber, and that wasn't achievable between the sessions. We took our time to make sure that we did the analysis properly, because obviously driver safety is paramount. It will all be back together tonight.

Q. You had to go to the stewards after the session. Is there a problem there?

CH: The stewards were interested to know what caused the incident and so on. We have explained very clearly what the issue was, which is self-explanatory when you see the component.

Q. So David will definitely take part tomorrow?

CH: I don't see there is any doubt in that. We have done components that have done more than 10,000 kilometres of testing with no failures at all. Obviously the track rod caused him to go off the circuit and the damage was done when he hit the kerb quite aggressively. It was the first part we were interested in, which is why the track rod failed. And we understand that now.

Q. Were the stewards more concerned with the second impact with the kerb rather than what caused Coulthard to run off the track?

CH: I think they wanted to understand why the failure occurred. And we have been through that in detail, and worked with them to show that all the proper care and attention has gone in and we are happy with safety - which we certainly are.

Q. And they are happy?

CH: They are as happy as stewards ever are.

Q. In Australia after Mark Webber's brake issue, you said that that was a component that had done 10,000 kilometres of testing without a problem. Today you have said the same thing. So is there a quality control issue at Red Bull?

CH: I don't believe there is. Obviously both are rogue failures, both are unacceptable failures and both are unrelated. One is from a third-party supplier, and one component we make internally. Obviously we take any failure extremely seriously and we take all relevant care and attention.

Q. Will you tighten up quality control?

CH: It is something we are constantly pushing the boundaries further and further, so it is a natural process of what we are already focused on.