Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says that he hopes the team can have a clean weekend following its disaster in Bahrain last weekend. Both Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen dropped out of the race after the first couple of laps, which allowed McLaren to jump Red Bull for third in the constructor's championship.
A problem for Ricciardo caused his car to shut down on lap 2, leaving him to pull to the side of the circuit and retire. Verstappen meanwhile, had contact with Lewis Hamilton, which gave him a puncture and caused damage to the differential.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 during the first free practice session from Shanghai, Horner spoke about the incident between Verstappen and Hamilton, and responded to Ricciardo's comments about Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas, who failed to pass Sebastian Vettel for the lead of the race last weekend.
"I looked through some of our results and our last double non-classified result was actually Korea 2010," he said. "It's a fine line. If you don't have a go, you get it in the neck like Valtteri Bottas and when you do have a go... Max is a racer, he went for it and there was contact. If the move had been made everyone would have said what a hero he is.
"We talk about having clean weekends and making sure we maximise a points but part of what makes him so exciting as a driver is his style, his approach and his attacking driving," he continued.
And speaking about Ricciardo's comments, he added: "Perhaps Valtteri is more focused on points than a Grand Prix victory but I can't imagine either of our two drivers not having a go, as probably would Alonso and several others. We've got a good track record here and I just hope we have a good clean weekend for both cars."
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Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
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