Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Red Bull up for the battle with Brawn

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner is anticipating more bruises from Brawn this weekend, but is adamant his team's time will come in the fight for the Formula One World Championship.
Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello staved off the anticipated challenge of their rivals in Spain 10 days ago to clinch a one-two and open up a significant gap in both Championships.
After winning four of the first five races, Button has a 14-point cushion over Barrichello, with Red Bull duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber a further four and 11.5 points adrift respectively.
As for the Constructors' Championship, the dominant Brawns are 29.5 points clear of Red Bull, with McLaren and Ferrari an astonishing 55 and 62 points behind ahead of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.
While no-one can discount the sport's two giants, at this stage it would appear the battle is between Brawn and Red Bull, and the latter is playing catch-up.
Yet a defiant Horner said: "We still absolutely feel we're in this Championship.
"The performance of the car in Spain was again positive, and both drivers have demonstrated the potential of it.
"We've not had the rub of the green in the last couple of races, and Brawn have taken advantage of that.
"But it's a long season, and we've some tracks coming up that will really suit the characteristics of our car.
"Anything with a high-speed corner will be good for us, so Monaco is more Brawn territory.
"But there's no reason why we shouldn't be in good shape at all tracks, in particular at Turkey and Silverstone as they will suit the characteristics of our car."
There is the prospect the Red Bulls will have on board around Monte Carlo a new rear diffuser which was the cause of so much political upheaval at the start of the season.
If so, there is every chance Horner's cars will be closer to the Brawns than he is anticipating.
"The guys in Milton Keynes have been working very hard on it," added Horner.
"As we've seen, every team that has so far put one far has found some performance."