F1: Horner - Teammate 'headaches' inevitable

Christian Horner admits it is inevitable he will be faced with difficult situations in terms of managing the relationship between Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.

Red Bull's driver line-up was changed after four races of the 2016 season, with Verstappen being promoted in place of Daniil Kvyat and duly winning his first race for the team. Both drivers excelled during the year, with Ricciardo winning from his teammate in Malaysia, but the dominance of Mercedes meant the pair were rarely fighting for victories

Asked if he envisages the two drivers causing him headaches in the future, Horner told RACER: "Inevitably."

He added, "But I think so long as we deal with it in the fashion we have done so far. Malaysia was a classic example of that, allowing the guys to race cleanly and fairly, then I'm looking forward to hopefully being in that position."

Having experienced difficulties between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel in the past, Horner admits he would be happy to be in a similar situation once again as long as Red Bull is winning races.

"They're nice headaches to have at the end of the day. But I remember finishing first and second in Malaysia [in 2016] being a completely different feeling to the last time we were won in Malaysia in 2013. It just shows how circumstances can change."

And Horner's confidence stems from the early signs between the two drivers in 2016, when he felt the pair got the balance right between fighting on track and working together for the good of the team.

"I think we've got probably the most exciting line-up in Formula 1. I think there's a good respect between the two drivers. What you ask more than anything is a respect between the drivers and for the team, but on top of that they actually like each other as well.

"Daniel has almost adopted sort of a bigger brother status outside of the car to Max, but inside the car they are both fiercely competitive, they both want to achieve the same thing and hopefully we can give them a car capable of doing that next year."