Christian Horner 'worried' about Red Bull as three 'really tough' Formula 1 grands prix await

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has said expectations of a resurgence at the upcoming Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix are low with no Renault engine upgrade on the horizon.

Daniel Ricciardo earned a podium and Max Verstappen finished fifth in Red Bull's best result of the season at the Monaco Grand Prix, but the constructor is still 99 points behind leader Ferrari in the championship.

"We're understanding the car better, we're developing the car better and we're getting performance from the car," said Horner after the race at Monaco.

However, the team boss acknowledges the challenge awaiting the RB13s at the upcoming races in Canada, Azerbaijan and Austria and says that those races will be far from easy for the 2010-2013 constructors' champions.

"I'm a little worried about two weeks' time and four weeks' time because they're completely different challenges. The next three circuits for us are actually really tough.

"They are going to be our biggest challenges of the calendar perhaps bar Monza.

"If we can perform okay at those next three venues, then with what's in the pipeline for further in the season, I think the second half of the season can be stronger than the first half," he said.

Recently, Red Bull hasn't performed well enough to win these three grands prix, with just one podium (at the 2016 GP) in Austria since 2014 and an average finish of sixth at Montreal in the hybrid era.

In the inaugural 2016 European Grand Prix in Azerbaijan (now called the Azerbaijan Grand Prix), Verstappen finished 8th and Ricciardo 7th on a circuit which has the longest straight on the F1 calendar.

Red Bull will continue to struggle on power-hungry circuits with no upgrades planned for Montreal, though there may be a step up at Baku.

"It's not in the plan at the moment," said Horner when asked about power unit upgrades for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix.

Earlier in May he said, "Sure, we are keen to have [the Renault engine upgrade] as soon as possible. We hope it will be [in] Montreal."

Ricciardo: Safety Car nearly 'ruined' Monaco podium

Daniel Ricciardo said he was 'really pleased' to finished third at Monaco but his second consecutive podium was not without its scary moments.

"I’m really pleased to be up here. You don’t often start fifth and get a podium here.

"I was just frustrated [in qualifying] because I knew we had so much more to offer here, so much more to give than what we showed.

The Australian overcut team-mate Verstappen (fifth) and left the pits ahead of the Dutchman and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas (fourth) on super-soft tyres.

The lap 60 Safety Car, which emerged after Jenson Button's crash with Sauber's Pascal Wehrlein, brought the field back together and Ricciardo said the tyres were like "concrete blocks" as he glanced the wall on the hill after Turn 1.

"The Safety Car nearly ruined my race," said Ricciardo.

"At the restart I hit the wall in Turn 1. I hit it pretty hard, so I thought I had damage.

"I could see Kimi in front of me trying to warm the tyres. I was trying to do the same; doing burnouts and trying to scrub the front tyres and get them going.

"They just turned to concrete blocks. They’re so slippery. So, I think we were all dreading the restart, to be honest.

"At one point you see it as an opportunity and I saw it as a potential opportunity to maybe jump Kimi but as the same time...you see it as a potential risk."

He was critical of the super-soft tyre compound's ability to heat up properly, quipping, "Maybe in years to come we can have a super, super, super-soft tyre for Monaco.

"I think that will be not only more fun in quali but avoid scary moments like that in the race. I guess it keeps it exciting for everyone at home."

"They [super-softs] just lose temperature really quick. We’re all aware of that."