With half the season now completed  - an interview with Red Bull Racing's Team Principal Christian Horner

A fifth place for Coulthard in Spain, seventh spot for Webber in the US, 6 points; it's not really whereyou want to be?

Looking back at the last few races, our performance has not matched our expectations. The RB3 has showngenuine pace, for example in both Monaco and then in Canada, where Mark qualified on the third row in sixth place.  Both  cars  qualified  in  the  top  ten  on  the  grid  in  Monaco,  only  for  David  to  have  his  time  removed  for having  impeded  Kovalainen.  David  had  a  competitive  race  in  Barcelona  finishing  fifth  and  Mark  got  his  first points of the season in Indy after a solid run to seventh. These performances have shown the potential of the car, which has been marred by a depressingly high number of retirements.

On  paper  at  least,  your  performance  seems  to  have  actually  got  worse  in  the  past  two  races.  Why  is that?

Our home grand prix was frustrating. It seems that Silverstone and Red Bull Racing has never been a marriage made in heaven. We are in an extremely competitive part of the pack. Having qualified in the top 10 in the first seven races, we missed getting into the top 10 at Silverstone by less than 0.1 seconds, and it has become clear that notably Renault, Toyota and Honda, have made a step forward. At the moment, three tenths of a second puts you either at the front or the back of a group consisting of Renault, Honda, Toyota, Williams and ourselves.

Can we expect something better at the Nurburgring?

We have some developments that we tested in Spa last week and a significant upgrade coming for Turkey, with a few new elements on the car next weekend at the Nurburgring, as we try to get the most out of RB3 and try and get back to the front of that group again. I think it's going to be very tight all through the rest of the season as it is just so competitive in that group at the moment. Of course, it's not just down to us, as those other teams are also pushing their development forward.

Most of the retirements appear to be gearbox related. What's going on there?

Mechanically, the gearbox itself is fundamentally okay and the problems have stemmed from areas around it.  Unfortunately, it has not been a case of dealing with just one issue to fix this problem. There have been several factors contributing to its lack of reliability this year. Every aspect of the gearbox has been reviewed and we are aware of the need to get on top of it quickly. For example, Mark's failure at Silverstone had never been seen before.  It's  frustrating  when  something  like  that  comes  along  and  bites  you  but  we  need  to  pre-empt  these issues and ensure we have a reliable transmission for the second half of the year.

Is it all down to the use of the seamless shift?

Not  entirely  and,  as  I  said  before,  we  need  to  run  this  aggressive  development  strategy  if  we  want  to  be competitive  at  the  highest  level.  The  seamless  shift  is  a  very  fast  shift  and  its  timing  needs  to  be  absolutely accurate.

But can we look forward to a brighter, more reliable, future?

Yes! It might be something of an excuse but it's one with a major element of truth that we are working with a new engine partner and have a new electronics package this year. Next year will be the first time in the short history of our team that we will have continuity of engine supply for more than one season and I expect that to be of tremendous benefit. We can all see the car's potential and our philosophy about going racing has changed here in that we are developing the car aggressively and that has required Herculean efforts from all areas of the company. The commitment demonstrated by everyone in the team has been hugely impressive. We don't have much to show for it at the moment, but with sustained effort and commitment, results will follow.

Finally,  your  announcement  at  the  British  Grand  Prix  that  David  Coulthard  will  be  with  you  in  2008 means your next year's driver line-up is already decided. Why did you make your choice relatively early in the year?

We  have  committed  to  David  and  Mark  for  a  further  season  for  several  reasons.  They  are  two  of  the  most dedicated  and  professional  drivers  in  the  pit  lane,  they  work  well  together  and  bring  a  wealth  of  experience, those qualities cannot be underestimated. They are evenly matched in terms of pace and performance and with the  benefit  of  continuity,  not  just  with the  drivers,  but  also  with  our  engine  partner,  Renault,  can  only  see  us progress in the future.