Horner bullish despite early Red Bull blow

Red Bull chief Christian Horner today rejected Sebastian Vettel’s claims that the McLaren car is the one to beat after the German finished second behind Jenson Button in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Vettel’s dominance last season, during which he claimed a record 15 poles on his way to regaining the championship, led many to believe he was a shoo-in for a hat-trick of titles but he was no match for Button in Melbourne yesterday.

The 24-year-old recovered from a disappointing sixth on the grid to make it onto the podium and team-mate Mark Webber moved up from fifth to finish fourth but neither could threaten Button, who led for 57 of the 58 laps after overtaking polesitter Lewis Hamilton on the run to the first corner.

The 2009 champion’s performance drew strong praise from Vettel but Horner stated his belief that McLaren did not win the race so much as Red Bull lost it. He said: “We underperformed rather than McLaren being overly strong — we can prove it next time we race, [in Malaysia on Sunday].

“It was a good recovery and we had good pace in the race. We were right on same pace as the McLarens and could have been faster.”

The early-season mind games were equally evident when McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh said Button had plenty left in reserve. “We were in reasonable control,” he said. “We’ve proved we’ve got a quick car and we can concentrate on making it quicker.”