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Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko Thinks that Red Bull will be able to mount a challenge to Mercedes next season.
After overhauling Ferrari as Formula One's second-best team this season, Marko belives Red Bull will be able to challenge for the title next year.
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"It is crucial that for next year Renault brings a completely new engine with the same performance as Mercedes," he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "Since our chassis is normally the best in formula one, we will be well positioned," Marko added.
With Red Bull's resurgence in full force, other teams in the paddock are again attempting to poach staff from the Milton Keynes-based team, but Marko admits that this is normal.
"Of course, it's always like that," said Marko. "Also from Mercedes. Or do you think that Niki Lauda dropping by on our Adrian Newey is by chance?
"But we have our top people tied to Red Bull until 2020," he insisted.
"Top people" includes both engineering staff and driver, with Red Bull looking to the future with their young driver lineup.
"With the long-term contracts of our drivers we wanted to say 'Hello, you can't graze with us.' We are well positioned for 2020.
"Ricciardo is now 27, Verstappen is 19 in September. By 2020 he will probably be at his best. One can only imagine what will happen by then," Marko added.
Marko insists that by having their drivers signed to long term deals, their rivals won't be poaching them any time soon.
"No. We recognised their problems and made long-term contracts with our people. We have taken away all of the games and speculation.
"Mercedes also has no chance to get our drivers. There are rumours that Hamilton says 'Screw you guys, now I'm an actor'. What do they do then?"
When asked about Mercedes junior Pascal Wehrlein and whether he believes the young German is the future of that team, Marko was less than complimentary.
"The course with Wehrlein, I believe, is incorrect," he said. "Toto Wolff saw what Red Bull does with its young drivers and believed he could do the same."
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