Christian Horner: "RB13 is one of the prettiest cars that we've designed"

Team principal at Red Bull Christian Horner says that their 2017 challenger, the RB13, is one of the best looking cars the energy drinks firm have produced.

Red Bull will present the car on February 26th, one day before the first day of pre-season testing gets underway. The team are expected to challenge the dominant Mercedes team next season.

Horner also said that the pace that themselves and other team will show in the pre-season will not be representative of their true potential for the eagerly awaited 2017 season.

"It's an exciting moment, to see the car break cover," he says. "People get sucked into who's doing what times, which fuel loads, who's doing race runs etc., It's all irrelevant in reality! You have to focus on your own programme, put the blinkers on, get through your programme of work and the developments you want to look at – because it's all going to change by the time you get to Melbourne anyway."

"I think the RB13 is one of the prettiest cars that we've designed and made because the geometry of the car under these new regulations means the proportions look right. It looks mean, it looks fast. The old adage is that, if it looks right, it tends to go alright – and this car sure looks right"

Horner is confident that Red Bull possess the most talented line up on the grid, fielding Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Both drivers have five wins between them and will be looking to add more this season.

"We've probably got the most exciting driver pairing on the grid," Horner proclaimed. "It's exciting to see the development and evolution of Max Verstappen as he's growing in experience and confidence. And Daniel Ricciardo, for me, was the driver of the year last year. He put in some phenomenal performances, right at the top of his game."

Drivers have been put through their paces at the gym over the winter, muscling up for the added G-Force that they will endure throughout the season due to the increase in downforce on the 2017 cars. Horner is hoping that they have trained their necks enough to deal with the compressing forces.

"Their main strengths? Hopefully it's their neck – because there's going to be a lot more g-force this year! They're both ferocious racers who are tremendously dedicated and enjoy what they do. I think the dynamic between the two drivers is great. They're going to push each other incredibly hard, which is great from a team perspective. I couldn't wish for two better, more motivated drivers in our cars."

Fergakl Walsh