Christian Horner remaining positive despite Red Bull reliability issues so far

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner says that he would rather have to fix a fast car than have a slow one that is more reliable.

The RB18 is certainly a quick car but it has shown its flaws already this season with three retirements in three races – two in the first Grand Prix and one at the weekend in Australia.

Indeed, it has dented Max Verstappen’s title defence with Charles Leclerc streaking away at the top of the Drivers’ standings, but the crumb of consolation has to be when the Red Bull does finish, it finishes high up in the classification.

That, then, is what Horner is holding onto after a disappointing afternoon for Max in Melbourne.

He said via The Race: “I’d rather fix a fast car than try to make a reliable and slow one fast.

“None of them have been related, so obviously need to understand those and address them quickly.

“But he is not giving up hope – after all, there are still 19, probably 20, races to be run this season.

“Even on a day when we weren’t as quick as Ferrari, we had a guaranteed second place in the first two races.

“With Max we’ve given up 36 points for the team, and for the team [overall] 50 points.

“When you look at that, both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championship would be a lot different.

“There’s still a huge percentage of the championship to run but we need to get on top of the issues quickly.”