Despite the fact that Charles Leclerc and Ferrari command both championships in Formula 1, Red Bull and Max Verstappen have given the impression of being ahead of them in pure pace, waiting for the updates to pass sentence.
Formula 1 in 2022 has brought with it a whole new generation of single-seatersunprecedented in the premier category of motorsport, to which the teams have had to adapt.
The short initial space of time available to the members of the ‘Great Circus’ grid for this was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic: the 17 Grand Prix of the 2020 season, a World Cup that started back in the July 5 of that year, delayed the new regulations from 2021 to 2022, an extra interval that everyone appreciated.
sustained development
Now more than ever, the evolution that each group performs on its single-seater will end up deciding the balance in each circuit that Formula 1 attends. After each one unveiled its proposal, based on a regulation with new and more restrictive lines in certain areas, such as both wings, comes the time to progress individually.
Of the 145 million of dollars established by the 2022 budget limit, rumors suggested that Red Bull had spent 75% today, a statement that Helmut Marko recently categorically denied.
“We are on equal terms with Ferrari”, assured the main person in charge of the young talent program of the energy drink team. “Moving forward, the difference will be making the most of our package on the track. We look forward to continuing to have a fierce battle with Ferrari, we have full confidence that the FIA will take care of it.”
The only certain thing is that race finished by Max Verstappen, race won by the reigning world champion. The retirements in Bahrain and Australia, both due to mechanical failures beyond his control, are the only ones that have prevented them from going further in the championship standings.
In fact, the general feeling in the paddock it is that Ferrari has not known how to take advantage of the dominance that it exhibited at the beginning of the season in an effective way, remaining after 5 Grand Prix with a meager advantage for what could have been.
Operation bikini
With the arrival of the Spanish GP on the calendar, most of the teams will present one of the major updates in their respective cars, something they have been doing since time immemorial.
Everyone knows the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya like the back of their hands, a track that, except for 2021, has hosted all or at least part of each of the preseasons held in recent years, which makes it a favorable scenario to this end.
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What will Red Bull’s news in Barcelona be based on? As confirmed by Marko himself, in the weight reduction of the RB18, an approach that has given its engineers headaches. “In Spain we will start the weekend with new parts,” revealed Marko.
The single-seaters of 2022 weigh 46 kg. more than last year, a fact that has led teams like Williams to directly remove layers of paint on their cars to expose the carbon fiber. “With this we can finally reach our optimal weight. Until now we were relatively above the minimum weight of 798 kg”, concluded Marko.
Source: F1-Insider