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Red Bull fears Mercedes F1 advantage could be even bigger

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko has played down his team’s 2018 Formula 1 title chances as it launched the RB14 on Monday, saying Mercedes’ advantage could be even greater this year.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14

Red Bull Content Pool

Formula 1 2018

The 2018 Formula 1 World Championship is the 69th season of the world’s leading open-wheel single-seater series. Sanctioned by the sport’s governing body, the FIA, its 10 teams and 20 drivers will compete in 21 Grands Prix around the world, beginning in Australia on March 25 and ending in Abu Dhabi on November 25. <p>The French Grand Prix, at Circuit Paul Ricard, returns to the calendar for the first time since 2008. The German Grand Prix, at Hockenheim, reappears after a one-year absence. The Malaysian Grand Prix, run since 1999 at Sepang, has dropped off the 2018 calendar.</p> <p>The main technical change for the new season is the adoption of the Halo cockpit protection system to all cars.</p>

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14
Paul Monaghan, Red Bull Racing Chief Engineer, Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Team Principal and Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull Motorsport Consultant at the Red Bull Racing Team photo
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14
Dr. Helmut Marko, Red Bull Motorsport Consultant
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14
Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull Motorsport Consultant at the Red Bull Racing Team photo
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14

Marko said he does not believe his four-time title-winning team will be in a position to challenge the reigning champions for the top spot this season.

In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Marko said: “The [Renault] engine should be more reliable and more powerful this year, and we will have a competitive chassis from the beginning, but Mercedes is building a new engine. It might be that their advantage will then be even bigger.”

Watch the Red Bull RB14 in action...

But Marko did concede that if the Renault power unit produces the numbers that the French manufacturer has stated, then it could close the gap.

“If the engine lives up to the promises that have been made, we should definitely be closer to Mercedes,” he said. “We saw that we always came up to speed in the second half of the season, and the analysis showed that we always finished the car too late. 

“It doesn't make any sense if you find a couple of hundredths of a second in the last 14 days. It is more important to be well-prepared for the season.”

When asked if it was an advantage for main rivals Mercedes and Ferrari to concentrate on team leaders Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel respectively, Marko revealed that he doesn’t think Red Bull will be in position to challenge for the drivers’ title anyway.

“That is an advantage, but if you have two equally strong drivers they will push each other to the highest performance level,” he said. “And they will also push the technicians and the chassis to the highest performance level. 

“If you only have one driver who is at the limit, then you never really know where you are. It is a disadvantage if your drivers take away points from each other, but I believe we are not in the situation to go for the title already this year.”

Where it's at: Red Bull Racing...

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