Although several F1 experts have tipped Red Bull as the clear favorites in the near term, Adrian Newey has issued a warning about how rivals are edging closer. The British aerodynamicist believes that fans may not need to wait for the regulation changes in 2026 to witness a battle for the championship. He believes that one of Red Bull’s rivals can launch a challenge as early as next year if not this season.
As quoted by Junaid on Twitter (now X), Newey said, “It’s definitely getting tighter. And who knows what will happen next year? One of our rivals could easily overtake us. People complain that the results have so far been dominated by one team, in our case fortunately us. But that can of course change”.
Red Bull indeed cannot afford to put their foot off the gas, as rivals such as Ferrari do seem to have reduced the deficit to them. The Prancing Horse have already showcased the same when they registered an emphatic 1-2 in Australia a few weeks ago.
After Max Verstappen retired from the race in Melbourne, Carlos Sainz controlled the Grand Prix brilliantly to register his first win of the 2024 campaign. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc registered P2 in the other Ferrari.
Following such a brilliant result in Australia, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur also expressed optimism about how he expects his side to be in a better position to challenge Red Bull in the upcoming races.
Fred Vasseur is confident Red Bull won’t run away with 2024 title
Although Max Verstappen and Red Bull have managed to win three of the opening four races so far, Fred Vasseur is not losing hope yet. The Frenchman believes that if the Italian outfit maximizes the potential of their car, then they will be able to force Red Bull into making mistakes more often than not.
After the Australian GP, Vasseur told Sky Sports (as per Formule1), “This weekend proves that if everything goes well – which should happen every weekend – we can put pressure on Red Bull. And when they are under pressure they are going to make mistakes”.
Vasseur and Ferrari will have two opportunities to put pressure on Red Bull this weekend as the race in China features the sprint format. Moreover, with F1 not having raced in China for the past five seasons, there is no clear indication that Red Bull will be as quick as they have been in the previous few races.
Ferrari will hope to capitalize on this unpredictability and challenge Red Bull for the win. If everything goes well, then the Prancing Horse can reduce the 21-point lead that the Milton Keynes-based outfit currently have over them after the first four races.
