Red Bull not bolstered by Ferrari reliability issues – Horner

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says his team is entirely focused on itself and isn't taking any comfort from title rival Ferrari's string of reliability issues.

Ferrari's new-generation F1-75 emerged from the outset this season as the fastest car in the field.

But the Scuderia's edge over Red Bull has been weakened by a succession of engine failures in Barcelona, Baku and more recently in Austria where Carlos Sainz's unit went up in flames just as the Spaniard was about to battle Max Verstappen for second.

Strategy mistakes in the Italian camp have also weighed on Ferrari's results, and specifically on those of early championship leader Charles Leclerc.

The Monegasque won last time out at the Red Bull Ring but the closing laps of the race were a nail-biter for his team due to a throttle pedal issue that almost allowed Verstappen to catch Leclerc before the checkered flag.

Despite Ferrari's troubles and the prospect that they may continue, Horner isn't banking on his rival's misfortunes to see Red Bull prevail in the back half of the season.

"We are not too focused on them," Horner said, quoted by Motorsport.com.

"We can't control or contribute to that in any way. I think that we've got to focus on ourselves and just getting the best out of our own package.

"They had a very strong car [in Austria], and they could have could have well finished first and second."

• Read also: Horner expects Mercedes renaissance to continue in France

Red Bull and Ferrari will resume their fierce battle this week in France, where Verstappen will head into the weekend at Paul Ricard with a 38-point lead over Leclerc.

While comfortable on paper, the advantage offers Horner no reason to feel bullish over Red Bull's title prospects as he feels that the championship is still wide open.

“Absolutely," he said. "We are just at the halfway point of the championship and things swing around quite a lot. There is still an awfully long way to go.

"I would say Austria was sort of damage limitation, as we managed to get the pole, get the sprint victory and see the second place [in the race].

"I think Max has only lost five points to the Charles in the drivers’ championship and obviously damage has been relatively contained in the Constructors’."

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