Red Bull: Late launch not a gamble

Although they have left the launch of their 2010 challenger very late, Red Bull are confident they will be able to hit the ground running when the season gets underway in just over a month's time.

The likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes - teams who are all expected to challenge for the title this year - have all launched their car and their drivers are getting vital lap times in Valencia.

Red Bull, though, are only due to launch their car on February 10 after which they will take part in pre-season testing sessions in Jerez and Barcelona.

Team boss Christian Horner insists the late unveiling of the RB6 won't have much of an impact on their fortunes.

"The main thinking was, as we did last year, to give Adrian (Newey) and our designers as much research and development time as possible," Horner told Reuters in an interview.

"It's a better strategy to maximise development time. It served us well in 2009 and with two tests in Jerez and one in Barcelona, we feel that is sufficient preparation for the season.

"It's an aggressive approach but, as you've seen, the reliability of the current cars is extremely high and last year I think on the first day of RB5 we did 90 laps in Jerez and have similar high targets for this year.

"So I don't think there is any gamble."

Red Bull have had a very quiet build-up to the 2010 season so far with headlines dominated by Michael Schumacher's return to F1 with Mercedes GP, Jenson Button's move to McLaren and Fernando Alonso's arrival at Ferrari.

"We have maintained total focus on our own performance and development," added Horner.

"We have had continuity across all aspects of the team...we follow with interest some of the other developments but we are happy focusing on ourselves. I'd be more than happy for others to have the headlines at the moment."

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