Christian Horner believes Formula One is a far healthier sport with team orders banned by the FIA.

Horner's stance is hardly a surprising one as he made it clear in the wake of the shunt in Turkey between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber that his drivers are allowed to race.

It cost his team a near-certain one-two finish that day, and may yet prove crucial when it comes to the title reckoning at the end of the season.

A call on the radio that day, either telling Vettel not to overtake or Webber to allow the German by, could have prevented the incident and fall out that followed.

The current ban forced Ferrari to relay coded messages to Felipe Massa on Sunday during the German Grand Prix that resulted in the Brazilian slowing to allow team-mate Fernando Alonso to pass and claim the win.

Yet despite F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone saying team bosses should be allowed to call the shots, Horner does not want to see a return to the days where a team could blatantly favour one driver over another.

"The rule was brought in for a reason - to avoid the situation that happened in 2002 (in Austria)," said Horner, regarding Ferrari's call to Rubens Barrichello to allow Michael Schumacher by.

"F1 is a team sport, but the rules are as they are. The issue in Hockenheim was very much an issue between the FIA and Ferrari.

"Moving forward, it is perhaps an area that needs to be looked at.

"But for me, F1 has been quite healthy in the last couple of years where drivers have raced each other and that should be encouraged rather than negated."

As Horner rightly points out, team orders have existed almost since the world championship began in 1950.

But he maintains that it has to be remembered there is now a rule prohibiting that, one his team will continually abide by.

"Rightly or wrongly, we've allowed our guys to race and that is something they have done throughout this year," added Horner.

"In Turkey we paid the ultimate price for that, where one retired and the other achieved a lesser result than he should have done.

"If the rules were different perhaps we would have addressed that race differently.

"But the philosophy of Red Bull Racing is to allow both drivers to race, as (team owner) Dietrich Mateschitz has