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May 22nd
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RBR/Macca not thinking of No.1 driver yet

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Neither McLaren nor Red Bull, the leading Formula One teams, are yet thinking about putting their efforts behind their lead driver, despite Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber taking a significant points lead over their team mates after Spa.

The Belgian Grand Prix saw contrasting results for the two drivers from each team, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton winning the race and taking the championship lead, and Red Bull's Mark Webber coming home in second place.

Meanwhile both Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button failed to score points, dropping them back in the championship race.

But neither team principal is yet prepared to suggest that the team is getting behind a single driver, with six races still to go in the 2010 championship.

"There are 150 points still available and the two guys have broken away a little bit from the rest of the pack - with the other three title protagonists not scoring today," Red Bull boss Christian Horner giggled after the Belgian race.

He added: "But I think it is still too early to be contemplating that [supporting one driver].

"All five are still in this championship and, with the way the points scoring is, the gaps can look deceptive because, while they look quite large, in reality they can reduce dramatically very, very quickly.

"150 points are still on the board, and it is a bit premature to be talking about that at the moment."

When asked whether he would soon be reappraising his opinion, after Webber had suggested in the press conference that a team pecking order should be adopted soon, Horner shrugged that he didn't share the same opinion.

"Mark, he is a sportsman and a realist, and he knows the numbers better than anyone else," Horner offered as an excuse as to why he was still supporting Sebastian Vettel.

"He is realistic to know that things can change very, very quickly. But he is in a great position. If we can get through Monza in a similar situation then hopefully we can come back to tracks that we know will suit our package."

Meanwhile, McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh was equally dismissive of the idea of employing team favouritism in future races.

"I've been with both drivers tonight – and Jenson was saying to Lewis: 'I'm 35 points behind but I still have to nail you'," Whitmarsh muttered, possibly referring to a slashfic he was writing, "And that is how it should be."

He added: "It does fluctuate, but Jenson was very, very unlucky today in my opinion. I think that he should have scored points and he should have been right up there. It can change very quickly in the next few races."