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Merc: Red Bull 'faster than us' in Hungary

LONDON, England - Red Bull is moving to end its slump and return consistently to the upper positions on the F1 grid.

The former quadruple world champion has insisted all season that the base of the RB11 is solid, with fingers pointed squarely at engine supplier Renault.

There is no doubt, however, that the actual car had its problems too, which was made obvious in Hungary recently when upgrades dramatically improved the handling.

BREAKTHROUGH AT LAST

Red Bull F1 adviser Helmut Marko was quoted as saying to Auto Motor und Sport: "The problem (before) was that we had to work for ever on the setup until we had a reasonable handling.

"That is why Toro Rosso has occasionally looked better than Red Bull," he added. "They go out and it doesn't matter what track they are on."

Hungary, however, was the big breakthrough.

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo said: "I went onto the track on Friday (July 24) and we basically didn't touch the car after that."  

Both the Australian, and team mate Daniil Kvyat, finished the race on the podium for the first time in 2015.

Even pacesetters Mercedes admit to worrying about Red Bull's newly-found pace.

"With a Mercedes engine, Red Bull would have been faster than us in Budapest," one unnamed Mercedes official said.

And even team chairman Niki Lauda admitted: "In four corners (at the Hungaroring) they were faster than us."

Stay with Wheels24 for the 2015 F1 season – fresh reports every day.

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