Vettel: Red Bull 'a lot closer' to Mercedes

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Sebastian Vettel says he is not concerned by Red Bull's recent improvements but admits his old team is "a lot closer" to Mercedes.

Daniel Ricciardo qualified just 0.035s slower than Vettel at the Hungaroring, with the former team-mates set to line up third and fourth on the Hungarian Grand Prix grid. Vettel says the improvement has been clear since the previous race in Britain but he isn't concerned to have a threat from behind as Ferrari focuses on catching Mercedes.

"Well, I think [Red Bull] have made a step closer to – ultimately – Mercedes, if you consider them being at the front," Vettel said. "So if you look at the gap they had, I think some races ago, and the gap they have now,  they are a lot closer.

"I think it was fairly evident at Silverstone already so it was expected that they have a strong weekend here as well. So I expect them to be strong, but we managed to outqualify them which means that we are quicker.

"Obviously [Friday] we cannot really compare because for us it was not a good day. Hopefully we can get a good comparison in the race and come out on top."

Ricciardo won last year's Hungarian Grand Prix from fourth on the grid for Red Bull.

AS IT HAPPENED: Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying

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