• British Grand Prix

Horner rejects chassis favouritism allegations

Christian Horner says there is no favouritism in the team © Getty Images

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• Race:
• British Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Sebastian Vettel
• |
• Mark Webber

• Teams:
• Red Bull

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has moved quickly to dismiss suggestions of favouritism in the team after Mark Webber was given a chassis recently rejected by Sebastian Vettel for the British Grand Prix weekend.

Webber's massive accident in Valencia meant the team had to give Webber another chassis for the forthcoming race, the same one Vettel abandoned after the team discovered problems with it after Monaco.

But Horner said the chassis had been completely repaired and there were no such problems left outstanding.

"Chassis at the end of the day are brackets that effectively components are bolted to, and the chassis has gone through a rigorous R&D and stress tests," said Horner on Thursday. "We are 100 per cent confident that the chassis, both chassis, are in equal condition.

"If we were favouring one over the other, you could do it in different ways. If you look at it objectively, Sebastian is in the car that Mark raced in Bahrain at the first GP, and so effectively all they have done is swap chassis.

"During the course of the year, both drivers - nine out of 10 times - get to drive all the chassis that you have produced so they are just like any other component. There is nothing special; there is nothing secretive about them. They are effectively a bracket that you bolt bits to."

Vettel, who is favourite to win this year's race on the back of his Valencia win, also said that there would be no problems for Webber with his old chassis this weekend.

"There is nothing wrong with it," said Vettel. "The chassis at the point it was changed was cracked, but since then it has been repaired so it is fine."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.