F1: Red Bull chief wary of Mercedes' true pace, labels it 'dangerous'

Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko has warned against writing off Mercedes from this year's championship despite their difficult start to the season. The Austrian team currently leads both the Constructors' and Drivers' Championships.

The Silver Arrows are the reigning constructors' champions but are currently 101 points behind Red Bull after seven races. Even in the Drivers' championship, George Russell, the leading Mercedes driver, is 41 points behind leader Max Verstappen, while Lewis Hamilton is a mammoth 75 points behind.

Despite their deficit, Marko feels it is "dangerous" to dismiss them from championship contention owing to the speed they have displayed during certain practice sessions. There is no doubt in the paddock that the Mercedes has the inherent pace necessary to challenge at the front.

Mercedes, however, have not been able to unlock it on a consistent basis. The eight-time constructors' champions showed in Barcelona, after their latest upgrade, that they can challenge the leaders with their impressive race pace. Marko worries that once they find a solution, they could very well be ahead of Ferrari and Red Bull.

"Mercedes is doing incredibly fast laps in practice and also in the races, both with Hamilton and Russell," Marko told Motorsport.com's German edition. "Not continuously, so for us it's difficult to interpret where that lap time is coming from. Listening closely to the Mercedes people, I don't think they know either."

"But the dangerous thing is the potential seems to be there. And once that can be called up over a race distance, then they'll be right up there or right at the front."

Even looking from the outside, the Red Bull chief feels it is "incredibly difficult" to understand where the underlying pace actually lies. While Mercedes have been within a tenth in practice and during races, they are unable to run at that pace consistently.

"And it's really incredibly hard to understand where this [car is] incredibly fast... they're the fastest in the field at [one] stage, but it doesn't last long," Marko added.

"What exactly changes there, why they can't drive that continuously, is just – thank God – still the problem, I would say."

The F1 circus arrives at the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan for the eighth race of the season. It remains to be seen if Mercedes can properly gatecrash Red Bull and Ferrari's party, and take their first win of the season.