In terms of performance, the F1-75 and the RB18 are closer than ever and any detail, such as the weather, can tip the scales
Verstappen is leader with 34 points over Leclerc, but Ferrari reaches Paul Ricard after improving his speed and chaining two consecutive victories
Ferrari and Red Bull arrive in France in search of the factor that will unbalance the balance, since after eleven grand prix the equality between the F1-75 of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and the RB18 of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, is absolute in terms of performance. Until now, the reliability problems have been shared on both sides and the two teams have managed to overcome them. At the moment, Verstappen leads the championship, with Leclerc at 34 points and Sainz, further away, at 75, after his car ended up on fire in Austria.
Red Bull leads Ferrari in the balance of victories: 7 for those from Milton Keynes to four for those from Maranello. 56 points separate both teams in the constructors’ standings, though Ferrari comes from winning the last two races, Silverstone with Sainz and Austria with Leclerc. “In terms of pure speed, the cars are very similar, and practice confirms this. I don’t think there is much difference between the two cars & rdquor ;, analyzes the head of the Scuderia Mattia Binottoconcerned about the latest reliability failures of the Ferrari engine so far this year and hoping to have the improved specification after the summer.
Any detail, such as the high temperatures and degree of humidity expected this weekend at the Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet, It could be decisive in the tight battle for the title between the two teams, while Mercedes, which incorporates new features, hopes to continue getting closer.
Red Bull adviser, Helmut Marko emphasizes another fundamental issue: “Everything related to reliability and new aerodynamic solutions is more difficult due to the budget ceiling that exists now in F1 & rdquor ;, he stresses. As for the car Verstappen and Perez the team has focused its progress on ‘slimming down’ and ‘copying’ Ferrari’s strong points, while those from Maranello have especially worked on improving their speed on the straight, especially in the DRS zones, to get closer to their rival.
sainz, that this weekend he could penalize from the bottom of the grid if he has to resort to the fourth power unit after the fire at the Red Bull Ring, reveals another significant detail: the deficit in starts. “We have a small problem with the car, we know what it is, what limits us, we survived in the first meters and then we attacked in the first corners & rdquor ;, explained the Madrilenian to the newspaper AS in Austria, where it was again clear that Red’s reaction Bull or even Mercedes is superior, although after the first meters the Ferrari can defend itself and recover position.