Crisis-struck Red Bull asks Toro Rosso for help

Red Bull’s early-season technical crisis is plumbing new depths, with news the reigning world champions are calling upon junior team Toro Rosso for help.

Italy’s authoritative Autosprint reports that Red Bull has asked the Faenza based sister team for assistance on the all-new ’brake by wire’ technology, which is tied in with the highly-sophisticated ’ERS’ systems.

"The fact that Red Bull wants to use someone else’s (system) says a lot about the size of Red Bull’s other problems," said veteran correspondent Alberto Antonini.

One of those bigger problems is with extreme "turbo lag", Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko admits.

"You step on the gas," he told Austrian television Servus TV, "but the power comes all of a sudden, the wheels spin, the car slides and you lose speed.

"We are working with Renault on the test benches day and night to improve the situation for Melbourne," added Marko.

World champion Sebastian Vettel, however, is expecting to struggle next weekend.

"If half the drivers fail to finish, then maybe we could take a few points," he said.

"At the moment we have bigger problems to solve than just the pace."