Red Bull Racing could be a little clearer ahead of Ferrari after next weekend’s Australian GP thanks to a leeway the Scuderia doesn’t have: a higher weight to remove from its car to be on the limit
That’s the view of Dr Helmut Marko, after Max Verstappen managed to beat Charles Leclerc in Saudi Arabia after an intense battle.
“Ferrari is fast in all conditions, regardless of track or tire temperature. Our car is more difficult to tune, but for Imola we are preparing new parts that will reduce the weight of the car.”
“This should bring a significant gain in lap time,” hopes the Red Bull consultant.
But until then, in Australia, the incredibly close duel between Ferrari and Red Bull should continue.
“I think Melbourne will be pretty much the same as Jeddah,” adds Marko.
“We are in a good position, but we have an opponent at our level in Ferrari. Charles Leclerc is driving absolutely flawlessly this season, so it will be an exciting year.”
“In Australia, before our evolutions, it will all depend on who can set the car up in the best possible way. , I hope we can have a little more margin.”
Ferrari will have the engine advantage until at least September
The element on which Red Bull will struggle to catch up is the engine, especially since a gel has been introduced on the thermal side. There remains the hybrid part which can still evolve until September.
Marko believes that Ferrari currently has an advantage and is using it to overload his car with downforce.
“Ferrari is ahead,” says the Austrian. “Honda, or rather Red Bull Powertrains, is in second place. And Mercedes, exceptionally, only in third place.”
“But they have the possibility to work the hybrid hard until September 1, so in this phase we have to get as many points as possible.”
When asked about Ferrari’s power advantage, Marko confirms that it is mainly “in the field of electric power. We hope that Honda will follow suit.”
On the chassis side, no surprise, it’s “very similar between Ferrari and us.”
“Mercedes has the strongest rebound but I think it’s only a matter of time. Once they sort that out they can fine-tune the car and maybe come back to us.”
“The main advantage of the Ferrari is that it is more forgiving. We have perhaps the trickiest car – a prima donna. But the important thing is that the potential is there.”
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