Reliability will be key in 2014 according to Horner and Lauda

While the start of the first tests of the 2013 season will take place at the end of January, Christian Horner expects very busy days leading up to January 26, the first day of testing in Jerez de la Frontera.

Even though the Red Bull Racing team has four driver and constructor titles to its name, Horner told the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat that he expected to see his teams compiling a huge workload by then: « As you know, Adrian Newey does not have a reputation for having a car ready in advance, so I’m sure there will be several sleepless nights before the car works. »

But the most important aspect in 2014, considering the significant changes like the arrival of the 1.6L V6 Turbo, will be reliability according to the Briton: « Reliability will be the number one challenge, but of course, we also want a lot of performance in the car right from the very start in Australia. That means the amount of work ahead of us is phenomenal. We did a good job in 2013, but it wasn’t perfect, and that motivates us to improve the areas where we did not meet our goals. »

Even if Horner believes that Red Bull can do even better, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be the case: « This does not mean we expect to win next year. We want to win, but the competition is really fierce, and we know how quickly things can change at the top in Formula 1. Nothing can be taken for granted. »

On the Mercedes side, and more specifically from Niki Lauda, the non-executive director of the Silver Arrows in F1, the key to the title will also be reliability, as he told Autosport: « Nobody knows [if Mercedes can win the title]. But the focus must be on reliability. The one with the most reliable engine, gearbox, and car can win the championship. Next year is not about speed, but about reliability. That’s what we are all going to work on. »