Red Bull, Alonso best so far in 2012 - Marko

Red Bull and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso are shining brighter than any of their rivals so far in 2012.

That is the claim of Dr Helmut Marko, referring to Alonso’s championship lead and the fact that Red Bull and McLaren are the only teams whose race drivers have each won a race so far this season.

"Overall I think we, together with Alonso, are the only ones who can consistently run at the front," Austrian Marko, Red Bull’s motor racing consultant, told Servus TV.

He said McLaren’s challenge has slipped away in recent races, even though "we can not ignore (Lewis) Hamilton".

"McLaren are having some problems at the moment, but it is a top team and Hamilton a top driver, and the points gap is quite small.

"Two or three good results and he is back up there again," added Marko.

British newspapers have decried McLaren’s apparent slump, but former driver David Coulthard backed his old team to bounce back.

"They have the capability to win this championship," he wrote in the Telegraph.

"The rate of development in formula one is astonishing," said Coulthard. "The introduction of a new package, small changes to setup, can make a big difference and it would not surprise me in the least if a McLaren won in Germany next week."