The 2024 Formula 1 season has become a three or four horse race in recent races, but Red Bull is keen to re-establish its dominance on circuits that are more suited to its car.
The increased competition following the 2023 walkover of Max Verstappen and Red Bull has breathed new life into the series.
But the problem is that the last four races have all been on technical circuits with plenty of bumps and obstacles that exposed Red Bull's weaknesses, and only a few high-speed turns where the RB20 could stretch its legs.
Both drivers were clearly struggling with the car's recalcitrant behaviour, which has badly affected Sergio Perez's confidence. But Verstappen has won two of the last four races, which could be an ominous sign for the traditional circuits of Barcelona, Austria and Silverstone, which make up the first triple-header of 2024.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st place, lifts the winner's trophy
Photo: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Red Bull is confident they will be proven right.
“Yes, that race will give a clearer picture,” Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko told Motorsport.com. “Barcelona is a proper racing track and so it will give us a good indication of what's to come for Austria, Silverstone and others. We think Barcelona should be 'ok' for us in general.”
Team boss Christian Horner is equally excited, having overcome some of the toughest circuits on offer without damage, winning two races and taking pole.
“The last few races have been ups and downs for us, but we have still managed to win two of the last three races,” Horner said. “We had pole at Imola, we managed to match the pole time [in Montreal] A car where both drivers are feeling the shortcomings [of],
But there is no consensus on who the Milton Keynes-based team's closest rivals will be, as the margin is so small it is hard to say who will win and it is track-specific.
McLaren can claim to have been the most consistent challenger over the last few weeks, having scored between 27 and 30 points over five consecutive race weekends. It is also heading to a circuit where its MCL38 should be strong on paper, having been a dominant force in high-speed corners in the latter half of 2023.
A big reason for its recent success has been improved performance in low-speed sections, but the team hopes this has not affected its high downforce potential.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38
Photo: Jack Mauger / Motorsport Images
“I think we can still be confident,” said Oscar Pastri. “I wouldn't say we are weak in the high speeds, it's just that the others have maybe gone a bit ahead. I'm very confident we will be somewhere ahead. Red Bull will probably be a bit stronger than before, but we will stay in the fight.”
Ferrari showed in Montreal how punishing a poor set-up or other mistakes can be, with both cars crashing out in Q2. Its bad weekend continued on Sunday, when both Leclerc and Sainz retired from the wet-to-dry race.
But all signs point to this appalling performance being a one-off, and team boss Vasseur will certainly not let one poor weekend derail the team's recent progress.
“We will have good and bad weekends, but the important thing is to keep our attitude the same, keep developing, keep solving problems and not lose motivation,” he added.
“We are not world champions after a good weekend and after a tough weekend we are nowhere. We will come back in Spain and get back to our momentum.”
Mercedes is facing perhaps the biggest weekend of the three, as it will want to confirm whether its new front wing can offer the same advantage on a completely different type of circuit, having also brought an updated floor to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
“I really feel our performance is right, and it's real,” Russell said after leading the team to victory over Montreal.
George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, 3rd place, Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 2nd place, on the podium with champagne
Photo: Jack Mauger / Motorsport Images
“I think we can stay in this fight with McLaren, hopefully we can keep fighting with Max as well, and look at Ferrari as well, obviously they had a bit of a bad weekend.
Team principal Toto Wolff said: “Since Imola, we have taken the right steps and put parts on the car that are working. It feels like we are increasing performance every weekend. We have new parts coming in Barcelona that will help us, so I am very hopeful that we can continue this positive trajectory.”
Asked about Mercedes' lead, Norris said: “If they stay fast in the next few races and join the competition with Ferrari, Red Bull and us, it will make our lives much more exciting and stressful.”
“Now there will probably be eight cars competing out there, so it’s exciting for us and everybody watching.”
Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes, the three of them competing against each other in the lead up to the summer break is certainly an exciting proposition.
However, the big question is whether or not Red Bull will stay ahead of them all. And by how much?
