Formula 1 News: Red Bull Aims to Reassert Dominance on Favourable Circuits
The 2024 Formula 1 season has transformed into a thrilling four-way battle, but Red Bull is determined to reclaim its supremacy on circuits that play to its car’s strengths. Following a period of intense competition, McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes have all closed the gap to Red Bull since introducing their respective upgrades in Miami and Imola.
In recent races, the pole-winning margin to second place has been breathtakingly close, with margins of 0.141s, 0.091s, 0.154s, and 0.000s. The winning margins have also decreased, with the Imola thriller seeing Max Verstappen fend off Lando Norris by less than a second.
“Barcelona is a proper racing track and therefore it will give us a good indication of what is coming for Austria, Silverstone and so on. We think Barcelona should be ‘okay’ for us, normally.”
- Helmut Marko, Red Bull Advisor
However, the elephant in the room is that the past four races have taken place on technical circuits with bumps and kerbs that exposed Red Bull‘s Achilles heel. Despite this, Verstappen still managed to win two of the past four races, which could be an ominous sign for the traditional circuits of Barcelona, Austria, and Silverstone that form the 2024 triple-header.
Charles Leclerc warned that “the strength of Red Bull will be more visible on a track like Barcelona,” with George Russell echoing the Ferrari driver’s sentiments. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is confident that Barcelona will provide a clear picture of the team’s performance, stating, “Barcelona is a proper racing track and therefore it will give us a good indication of what is coming for Austria, Silverstone and so on. We think Barcelona should be ‘okay’ for us, normally.”
Team boss Christian Horner is equally bullish, citing Red Bull‘s ability to win two out of the last three races despite struggling on recent circuits. “The last couple of races have been more choppy waters for us, but we have still managed to win two out of the last three races,” Horner said. “We had a pole in Imola, we managed to match the pole time [in Montreal] with a car that both drivers are feeling the deficiencies [of].”
McLaren, meanwhile, has been the most consistent challenger in recent weeks, scoring between 27 and 30 points for five consecutive race weekends. The team is heading to circuits where its MCL38 should be strong on paper, having been a major force towards the latter half of 2023 in high-speed corners. Oscar Piastri is optimistic about McLaren‘s chances, saying, “I think we can still be confident… Red Bull will probably be a bit stronger than they have been, but we’ll be in the fight.”
Ferrari‘s horror show in Montreal, where both cars went out in Q2 and both drivers retired from the race, is expected to be a one-off. Team boss Vasseur is focusing on the team’s recent upward trajectory, stating, “We will have good weekends and bad weekends but what is important is to keep the same approach, continue to develop, continue to fix the issues and not bring down the motivation.”
Mercedes faces a crucial weekend, as it will want to confirm whether its new front wing can yield similar gains on a completely different type of circuit. George Russell believes the team’s performance step is real, saying, “I think we can be in this fight with McLaren, let’s hope we can continue being in the fight with Max, and let’s see with Ferrari, they obviously had a bit of an off-weekend.”
Toto Wolff added, “Since Imola, we’ve taken the right steps and put parts on the car that are working. We seem to be adding performance every weekend. We have new parts coming in Barcelona that should help us, so I would very much hope that we can continue this positive trajectory.”
The question on everyone’s mind is whether Red Bull will be able to assert its dominance over the other teams on the more favourable circuits. One thing is certain – the upcoming races promise to be an exhilarating ride for Formula 1 fans.
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