“Leclerc is driving absolutely flawless” – Red Bull boss Helmut Marko is confident they will be able to better their car performance come Imola, the home race of Ferrari.
The new technical regulations has seen the minimum car weight increased to 795 kilograms, a 43kg jump from the previous iteration.
It is no secret that Red Bull has a relatively heavier car compared to most teams, but boss Helmut Marko has revealed they are set to reduce the weight further, and make it ultra-competitive by the time F1 reaches Imola.
“The Ferrari is a car that is always fast, in all conditions [regardless of] temperature or tyres.
“Our car is definitely more difficult to tune, but we will lose some weight in Imola. That should give us a significant time advantage, time gain in other words.
“I think we are in a good position, but we have an almost equal opponent in Ferrari. Leclerc is driving absolutely flawless this season, so it will be an exciting year.”
Just @Max33Verstappen casually racing one-handed 🤯pic.twitter.com/ggQcZeOD6c
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 29, 2022
Will Mercedes bounce back after Ferrari and Red Bull wins?
This season, instead of Mercedes, it seems Red Bull will be locking horns (and tyres) with Ferrari most often. Both the teams have won a race each, with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen involved in multiple epic duels.
But Marko is aware of the threat posed by Mercedes, and expects them to get back to their competitive best soon enough.
“Ferrari are ahead. Honda, or rather Red Bull Powertrains, is in second place. And Mercedes, unusually, only in third.
“But there is the opportunity for them to work on that until September 1, so in this phase we have to get as many points as possible.”
