Red Bull not expecting to keep Monaco form

Red Bull is not expecting to burst back into podium contention after a stronger weekend in Monaco.

Just behind the top three on Sunday was the Red Bull duo of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo — a clear step forward for the former champions after a bad start to the season.

"I think we’re back in the right direction," said engine supplier Renault’s Thierry Salvi on Sunday.

His boss Cyril Abiteboul also heaved a sigh of relief.

"It was not so easy to keep everyone in line with all this criticism," the Frenchman is quoted by Austria’s Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

"Now we will keep our foot on the gas until we are where we want to be," the Renault F1 chief added.

However, Red Bull was not willing to give much of the credit to its engine supplier after Monaco.

"What we saw was that Red Bull has sorted out our problems with the chassis," said outspoken team official Dr Helmut Marko. "This has nothing to do with Renault."

Team boss Christian Horner agreed that, despite the good showing on the twisty streets of Monaco, the power factor will resume its big role at forthcoming races.

Recently, however, he said he believed Red Bull could overcome its engine deficit with better aerodynamics.

"Unfortunately not," he now tells the Spanish daily Marca.

"With the rules as they are, the engine is so important to the performance of the car that you cannot compensate only with aerodynamics.

"We hope to have a good performance in the coming races, but at the end of the day you can’t replace horse power."