F1: Red Bull chief predicts penalty for Ferrari after Baku failures

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner is almost certain that Ferrari will take grid penalties later in the season owing to their multiple engine failures. The Briton has also refused write off the Italian team from the title fight, as he is certain they will "sort out" their issues sooner rather than later.

The Maranello-based team have thrown away potential victories at three of the last four races and two of them were due to catastrophic power unit failures. Charles Leclerc was at the receiving end both times, and it occurred while he was leading the race in Spain and Azerbaijan.

Until Spain, it was the Red Bull reliability that was questioned, but Ferrari seem to have the bigger problems going into the remaining 14 races of the season. The Italian marque have a very fast car, but it will count for nothing if they cannot cross the chequered flag on Sunday.

Horner admits that Ferrari have a faster car over one-lap, but feels the Red Bull is on par when compared over a race distance. The legendary red team's reliability issue has given the Austrian team a giant lead in both the Drivers' and Constructors' championship.

"I think they have a very fast car, certainly on a Saturday," Horner explained, when asked by Autosport for his thoughts on Ferrari's title prospects.

"I think on a Sunday, we've been equal to them at pretty much every race that we've been to this year. And I think that was the case again [in Baku] from what we can see in the early laps."

Horner expects Ferrari to sort out their engine issues, but admits that their title rivals will be hit by grid penalties later in the year. Each team is allocated three power units for the entirety of the season, and Leclerc will take on his third in just the ninth race of the campaign in Canada this weekend.

"They will sort their problems out. I've got no doubts about that. But inevitably, I guess it means that there'll be penalties further down the year, in the back end of the year," Horner added.

"Of course, there is a long, long way for this championship to play out. We've seen big swings in points over the last four or five races, and it just shows how quickly things can turn around."