(Motorsport-Total.com) – The new Formula 1 regulations are causing an especially intense development battle this year, as rarely have update packages shifted the balance of power among teams as much as in the first races of the season.
Read more Mega chance for talents: Your path to the cockpit of Mercedes, Porsche & Co.!
At the race in Barcelona, Ferrari brought a major upgrade that apparently had an effect. The Italians put Mercedes under pressure and celebrated the first win of the season by Lewis Hamilton. At the Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull could now be next, as the Bulls are planning a comprehensive upgrade for the RB22.
But will this package bring the hoped-for breakthrough? “The typical picture of this season is these performance fluctuations, depending on who just brings an upgrade,” explains Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies. “Ferrari has made a big step.”
“Our next big move obviously comes in Austria. But in the end, only the real lap time on the track counts. Everyone in Milton Keynes has worked extremely hard for this package.” For Red Bull, this is the second major upgrade of the year.
The package introduced in Miami included a complete redesign of the sidepods as well as its own interpretation of a rotating rear wing – a concept similar to Ferrari’s, which team principal Frederic Vasseur jokingly dubbed the “Macarena” wing.
Red Bull plans further weight reduction of the RB22
Which components will be modified for the upcoming race in Spielberg is a secret. However, Mekies does not believe that this step alone will be enough to lift Red Bull back into the real fight for Grand Prix wins against Mercedes and Ferrari.
“The Austria package alone will not be enough,” the Frenchman makes clear. “We know that further steps must follow. But it is important that we continue the upward trend since the time after Japan and further reduce the gap.”
“We don’t want to have to talk about four tenths anymore, but hopefully about significantly less.” These four tenths per lap are the value that Red Bull currently loses to the competition according to Mekies’ calculations. After the Miami Grand Prix, the Frenchman emphasized that his team had already halved the gap to the front through the first upgrade.
A big advantage of the Austria update could be a further weight reduction: It is an open secret that the Red Bull still weighs above the regulated minimum weight of 768 kilograms, although the Miami package had already caused a reduction.
In May, Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache revealed to Motorsport.com, a sister platform of Motorsport-Total.com in the Motorsport Network, that they want to hit the minimum weight exactly with the new parts for Austria.
When asked about the weight topic after the Barcelona weekend, Mekies dodged the question with a wink. “Eat less!”, he joked when asked if the plan was still in place. “That’s my plan. My very personal plan for Austria!”
Read more Mega chance for talents: Your path to the cockpit of Mercedes, Porsche & Co.!
“Hopefully we will be lighter there. Austrian food is good, I know,” said the team principal with a grin, but then revealed: “But the plan is that the car will eat a little less there and go on a small diet.”
Red Bull: “Ferrari has made a very good step”
Mekies was visibly impressed by the Ferrari upgrade in Barcelona and noted that the initial advantage Mercedes had in the first races of the new season is slowly melting away. Red Bull itself was by no means as competitive in Barcelona as on other tracks because the layout mercilessly exposed the weaknesses of the RB22.
Max Verstappen experienced “a lonely race” in Spain and finished fourth with almost 20 seconds behind Lando Norris. Isack Hadjar lost valuable ground at the start but still limited the damage by finishing sixth. The team simply lacked the speed to keep up with Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren – even though they comfortably distanced the rest of the midfield.
Barcelona: Driver ratings by Marc Surer and the editorial team
“Chapeau to them for the first win with Lewis,” Mekies pays respect to the competition. “The gap between Mercedes and the chasers has continuously shrunk in the last races. Ferrari has made a real leap forward with its package.”
“And when you win on a track like Barcelona, that says a lot about the quality of chassis and power unit,” says the experienced Formula 1 engineer. “We are fighting up front in the top 4. Not every track layout allows us to fight for the podium.”
Red Bull expected “reality check” in Spain
“In Canada and Monaco it was possible, here [in Barcelona] it was not. You have to accept that. Still, I believe that without the drama in the last laps [and Kimi Antonelli’s retirement], we could have beaten a Ferrari and a McLaren today. More was simply not possible.”
Red Bull had, however, expected this “reality check” in Barcelona. “It is the first track with a long straight as well as medium-speed and fast corners in what feels like an eternity. After China and Japan, it was the first time we returned to such a course,” Mekies emphasizes.
“So we definitely expected a different performance than in Monaco, where we suddenly could fight for pole position. Still, this weekend shows our progress. Because we are talking about three or four tenths gap to pole or to what you need to win the race. At the start of the season, it looked very different on such tracks.”
“There is undoubtedly still a gap – both on the engine side and with the chassis. And that is exactly what we have to tackle next,” says the Red Bull team principal. “Now it is no longer about one miracle weapon. We have to find a bit of performance everywhere: in medium-speed corners, fast corners, on the straights, and so on.” Despite the update, it will therefore not be easy for Red Bull in Austria.
Read more Mega chance for talents: Your path to the cockpit of Mercedes, Porsche & Co.!