Red Bull predicting further twists

(GETTY IMAGES)

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner is convinced the twists and turns of a pulsating Formula One season will continue to the bitter end.

Horner was philosophical after watching the balance of power swing towards McLaren in yesterday's Canadian Grand Prix following a second successive one-two for their rivals.

Up until the moment of madness on lap 40 of the race in Turkey 15 days ago, when Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber collided, Red Bull had been the dominant force - albeit failing to make the most of their opportunities, as was underlined in Istanbul.

But Lewis Hamilton's 13th win of his career means he now leads the drivers' championship by three points from team-mate Jenson Button and six from Webber, with McLaren 22 clear in the constructors' contest.

These would appear to be troubling times for Horner just four weeks after a glorious one-two of Red Bull's own in Monaco, when they seemed set fair for glory this season.

"It seems to be a disadvantage to lead the drivers' championship," said Horner on the fact the lead has changed hands on a number of occasions.

"But I'm not surprised at how the championship has flipped around.

"It's the most exciting we've had for some time, and we're not even halfway through yet. There's a long way to go.

"I'm encouraged by the fact that on a track we knew would suit the McLarens, with them achieving an optimum result, we finished fourth (Vettel) and fifth (Webber) to limit the damage.

"We performed better and were more competitive with the McLarens than I expected, gaining some very valuable points.

"Valencia (European Grand Prix on June 27) will again play to the strengths of McLaren and Mercedes, which will be another challenge for us, but hopefully we can run strongly there.

"It's a very quick track, similar to Montreal, but we've a couple of developments coming. I'm sure we can go there and build on the performance we've had in Canada.

"But then we come back to tracks that should suit us and play more to our strengths, so there's absolutely everything to play for."

Horner is adamant there are no regrets within the team about the chances they have let slip through their fingers so far, citing the cases of their rivals.

"Others haven't made the most of their opportunities either, be it with wheel nuts (Mercedes' Michael Schumacher) or bungs left in their car (Button)," added Horner.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but we are where we are at the moment. It's still very tight, and these things tend to equal themselves out."