With the victories of Melbourne, Miami and Monaco not appearing in Red Bull’s record, hope has arisen to see the race for the World Championship relaunched. The weaknesses of the RB20 have been accentuated in recent races, thus depriving the Austrian team of three successes in the first nine Grands Prix of the season.
Imola, Monaco or Montreal are circuits where it is necessary to attack hard on the curbs, one of the rare elements that the team’s single-seater does not appreciate. Thus, over the last three races the team led by Christian Horner has scored “only” 62 points, compared to 88 for McLaren for example. The retirements of Max Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez in Monaco and Canada notably contributed to the rapprochement of McLaren and Ferrari in the constructors’ championship.
However, Verstappen’s victory in Canada on a track that did not suit his car demonstrates that the superiority of the Austrian team has not disappeared. Charles Leclerc therefore remains cautious in explaining that the next route, in Barcelona, should suit the Red Bulls much better. But he still remains a little hopeful, indicating that the three teams behind, namely Ferrari, McLaren and now Mercedes, should be able to get closer.
“I have the impression that Red Bull’s strength will be more visible at a circuit like Barcelona”said Leclerc after dropping out in Montreal. “But let’s wait and see. And behind [Red Bull]I think we’ll all be pretty close.”
The Ferrari driver is not the only one planning a return to the Red Bull front for the Spanish Grand Prix. George Russell, third in Canada after taking pole position, believes that the next European circuits should give the advantage back to the RB20s.
“It’s no secret that they [Red Bull] have had some difficulties with their car in the last three races. Yet they won two out of three.”Russell explained. “So I expect them to take a small step forward when we return to European racing on more conventional circuits.”
George Russell ahead of Max Verstappen at the Canadian GP.
Photo by: Francois Tremblay / Motorsport Images
After the good performance of his team in Montreal, the Mercedes driver considers that the Spanish Grand Prix should also allow the W15 to show the extent of its potential found since Monaco, convinced that the Silver Arrows will be able to fight for the first positions in Catalan lands.
“We need to see how performance [de Red Bull] will play in Barcelona”added the Briton. “But the increase in pace [de Mercedes] that we noticed this weekend was not a surprise to us, because all the figures from the factory told us that we were going to find a lot of performance with these developments. So Barcelona is going to be interesting for everyone, but I’m convinced we can fight.”
Lando Norris, who finished second to Russell last weekend, believes the improved pace of the Mercedes should make the competition even more exciting, with the Miami GP winner now seeing them as serious competition for McLaren, the leading team. more constant in these last meetings.
“If they are faster in the next races and join the fight between Ferrari, Red Bull and us, our lives will be even more exciting”Norris said. “[Mais aussi] trickier and more stressful, because now there will probably be eight cars fighting and challenging us. So it’s exciting for us and probably for everyone watching.”
With Filip Cleeren
