Jenson Button believes that if, contrary to what they say, there is a faction within Red Bull which sees/wants Sebastian Vettel as the team's number one driver, it can only aid McLaren's title challenge.

Despite the 'kiss and make up' meetings, the photographs, press releases and a contract extension for Webber, many believe that once the fuse was lit in Istanbul, the in-house rivalry at Red Bull is simply an accident waiting to happen. "That is going to hurt them both," Button told reporters in Canada, referring to Webber and Vettel's title hopes as the season unfolds.

The Englishman, despite media speculation that all is not entirely rosy at Woking, especially after the overtaking incident in Turkey and subsequent revelations regarding radio communications, insists that he and teammate Lewis Hamilton are treated equally in every respect.

"I know 100 per cent we get treated in the same way," he said. "I don't mean with regards to equipment, I mean the way the people are around us. My mechanics want me to win and his want him to win. It's that in-fighting which is exciting, but is not over the top. It's the way it should be, and it's working very well for us."

Many believed that Red Bull would dominate in Turkey, however, even allowing for that crash, the McLarens were there, pushing them all the way, and Button is confident that his team can continue to put up a good fight.

"I'm sure in speaking to Red Bull after the previous race in Monaco they would have thought 'Wow, we've such a margin of performance we are going to walk it,"' he said. "But in Turkey we proved we are as quick if not quicker, although we still need to work on qualifying.

"But you can't say it is between me and Lewis because anything can happen," he added. "Red Bull bring new parts to every race they go to and they are always improving. They are a fantastic team and it's going to be hard for us to challenge them at every race we go to, but that has to be our aim.

"In Canada we should be quick, and then it's just a fight as to how many updates you can get on the car to consistently fight for victories and not slip up."