Red Bull team principal does not believe in celebrating prematurely

Sep 24, 2011, 8:22 GMT

Singapore - Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said he did not believe in celebrating prematurely, despite a runaway lead in the championship and a chance for his driver, Sebastian Vettel, to clinch back-to-back titles in Sunday's Singapore Formula One night Grand Prix.

'We are ignoring the drivers' points table at the moment,' Horner told the official F1 website ahead of Saturday's qualifying round.

'We are here with the same objective we had at Monza and Spa - to attack and do our best to optimize our performance and try to win the race,' he said.

The Red Bull team chief said the champagne was not in the fridge already 'because it is important to keep our focus.'

'Even if the lead looks pretty healthy, things can change,' said Horner.

Vettel, who recorded the fastest lap in Friday's practice, is going into the Singapore floodlight race with 284 points, well ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, with 172.

The 24-year-old would clinch his second world championship ahead of the final five races and become the youngest F1 driver to defend his title, if everything goes his way on the bumpy Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Horner said Singapore was an event that Red Bull would love to win.

'We've had a second and a third place here, so it would be fantastic to go one better this year,' he said. 'But, for sure, the Ferraris and McLarens will be pushing equally hard.'

He said Vettel, who bids for his ninth win of the season in Singapore, so far had performed on an exceptionally high level.

'He is still so young and he is still developing as a driver as he gains more experience and I am certain that the best is still to come from Sebastian,' Horner said.

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