Red Bull challenge

After taking his maiden Formula One Grand Prix victory, Daniel Ricciardo believes Red Bull can challenge Mercedes over the next few races.

With both Mercedes drivers struggling for reliability in Canada the door opened for the Australian to take advantage and it was strongly taken by the Red Bull Racing driver.

?We capitalised when the opportunity was there,? Ricciardo said.

But whilst the possibility of a Mercedes 2014 season whitewash has now ended, they clearly still have the most dominant car, but the gap is closing.

?Austria could be interesting and Silverstone has traditionally been a good one for Red Bull so there are a few races in the immediate future which could perhaps help us out.

?Aerodynamically, we are strong and I think Silverstone could be the one where we might challenge.? Ricciardo told Sky Sports.

The problem for Red Bull Racing is the lack of straight line power the Renault engine produces in comparison to the Mercedes.

But as the development of the new v6 turbo-hybrid engines progresses, Renault will close the gap, especially during the mid-season three-week break.

?In terms of catching up with Mercedes in terms of raw pace, and on circuits with longer straights, I think that is going to come after the summer break,? he added.