As the media sniffed the possibility of a rift at Red Bull, team boss Christian Horner sought to play down the situation insisting that there is nothing to explain.

Speaking at the end of a session which saw him qualify seventh, behind Haas' Romain Grosjean, Daniel Ricciardo suggested that his team's Q3 strategy had been unfair in not allowing him to get a (slipstream) tow from his teammate.

However, Max Verstappen in a separate interview insisted that the agreement sees the Red Bull drivers take it in turns to go out first, and that having been first out in France, this weekend it was Ricciardo's turn.

Clearly mystified by Ricciardo's comments and the ensuing media speculation that all is not well within the team, Horner backed up Verstappen's claim.

"They know the situation," he told Sky Sports. "There is nothing to explain.

"We have a very simple policy here that has operated for the last seven years," he continued, "that we alternate from weekend to weekend who drives out of the garage first.

"That is the only way to keep it as scrupulously fair from circuit to circuit," he explained. "So this weekend it was Daniel's time to drive out of the garage first in front of Max, and obviously he felt that Max might be benefiting from that. So that is why he obviously started to back up a bit.

"The drivers know explicitly every weekend it alternates," he continued. "Last weekend it was Max who drove out first, and Daniel would have followed him. Next weekend it will be the other way around.

"Even in the debrief, from weekend to weekend, it varies on who talks first," he added. "It is the way to keep it as scrupulously fair as we can."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Spindoctor, 01/07/2018 10:53

"If I was Ricciardo, I'd get on my bike ASAP.
Aussie drivers at Red Bull don't seem to fare too well against (loosely) Germanic team mates...."

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2. Posted by Ro, 30/06/2018 17:21

"So, its all artificial? Ricciardo was quicker, and you know it. They should never have been released next to each other, all that did was raise a question of favouritism. Youve lost your drivers trust, thats all."

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Horner backs Verstappen insisting there is "nothing to explain".

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