Marko: "Poor Ricciardo" will have engine-problems "two more years" at Renault

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has said that Daniel Ricciardo will endure his current reliability issues for two more years after this year, as the Aussie signed on at Renault for 2019 and 2020.

Last weekend during the United States Grand Prix, Ricciardo's RB14 had yet another loss of power. It's the seventh time this season that the 29-year-old retired from a race, which is two more than anyone else on the grid. Red Bull have some serious reliability issues, this underlines, but not according to Marko.

The Austrian thinks that all reliability issues are traced back to Renault, who deliver the power units for the Bulls, which is why he thinks that Ricciardo will live through two more years of reliability horror at the French team.

"I am sorry for poor Ricciardo, but he will have to live with these problems for another two years," Marko was quoted by news agency GMM.

"Next season, with the Honda engine, I think we [Red Bull] can fight for the championship, the project is very good, promising, and I really think that.

Honda were always blamed for reliability issues themselves at McLaren up until last year, which is why it will be interesting to see how much Red Bull can stay on the track with a Japanese engine in the back in 2019.