Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner believes that the battle for victory in the Monaco Grand Prix is totally open, on the back of the unpredictable start to the Formula 1 season.
With five teams having won so far this campaign, and cars being so close to each other in competitive terms, Horner says that predictions for who can win F1's most prestigious event will be impossible before Saturday.
"It is so open that we will only get a better idea I would say after P3, but probably not even then," explained Horner, whose driver Sebastian Vettel is joint leader of the championship standings. "It will probably be only after qualifying that we will get a clear indication of where we are, but the weather could be a factor as well this weekend. Throw that into the mix and you have a real cocktail for an entertaining weekend."
Although victory in the Monaco GP does carry some extra prestige, Horner thinks it important that his squad does not lose sight of its title ambitions, which means it essential it delivers points for the championship.
"This is a fantastic race to win," he said. "We have been fortunate enough to win it the last couple of years, but it is one of 20 races, and it has the same amount of points available as the others.
"The prestige here is greater than other venues but counting towards the championship it carries the same weight in points. So the most important thing for us is to maximize the package we have here.
"Hopefully we can, but whether that package can compete for the win? If it cannot we have to make sure that we optimize the best result that we can, because ultimately they will all count at the end of the year."