Red Bull are pushing hard to catch Mercedes, but team principal Christian Horner says it very much depends on what Renault can do on the engine side if they’re to close the gap further.
Whilst Mercedes are still some distance ahead, the gap was closed slightly in Monaco as Daniel Ricciardo was for the first time able to fight for position.
However that is likely down to the characteristics of the Monaco street circuit which relies on downforce over engine power and straight-line speed.
Horner recognises this fact and is therefore pushing for Renault and fuel supplier Total, to bring upgrades to the Canadian GP which is an engine dominant circuit.
“We’re very much in Renault’s hands,” he said. “We are making progress, they are making progress and Total on the fuel side is making progress, but really we are now where we should have been in January.
“Montreal is going to be a challenging race and it’ll be interesting to see how we fare there. Renault are working hard behind the scenes and we were much, much closer [in Monaco] and it was the first time we have raced Mercedes,” he added.
“Dan’s pace – particularly in the last third of the race – he was the quickest car on the track. I think we take a lot of confidence out of that, but you are going from one extreme to another, Monaco is all about handling characteristics and the next event is predominantly straight-line performance. It will be interesting to see how we fare against the Mercedes-powered teams in Montreal.
“There’s still a long way to go and Mercedes obviously aren’t standing still. But we are only at race six. There’s still a long way to go in this championship.”
