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Marko: P3 ‘the best Red Bull can get’ with Renault engines

Red Bull Formula 1 consultant Helmut Marko feels third place in the constructors' championship is the best finish the team can hope for given the current quality of Renault's power units.

Red Bull has struggled to put up much of a fight to either Mercedes or Ferrari at the front of the pack through the 2017 season, with its power disadvantage being one of the contributing factors.

Despite taking a somewhat fortuitous race win in Azerbaijan two months ago, Red Bull is still over 170 points behind Mercedes at the head of the constructors' championship.

With Ferrari 134 clear in P2, third seems to be the best the team can hope for, with Marko agreeing.

"It is not good enough for Red Bull," Marko said in an interview with the official F1 website.

"But in our position with the engine, it's the best we can get."

Red Bull and Renault's partnership has been something of a rollercoaster in recent years, with their four straight title wins between 2010 and 2013 not preventing a souring of relations in 2015 amid a lack of engine performance.

Speculation has arisen in recent weeks that Honda could be set to link up with Toro Rosso in the near future as a possible pre-cursor to a deal with Red Bull's senior team.

Red Bull and Toro Rosso's existing engine deals with Renault run until the end of the 2018 season.

Zdroj: crash.net