Red Bull can compete with Mercedes

Red Bull boss Christian Horner is confident they can still face the hitherto dominant Mercedes team this year. They are hoping for improvements to the car, which will be used for the first time in the race in Spain, in two weeks.

The Mercedes racers won all of the first four races of this season, of which the German team celebrated a double victory in as many as three events. The Red Bull team, which is aiming for the fifth consecutive title of champion among constructors, is not doing well so far, as they have only managed to finish the race among the top three so far. Although they are in second place in the overall standings, they are 97 points behind the leading Mercedes.

“We will do our best. I’m sure we can compete with them, but we shouldn’t lag even further, ”Horner said. “In China, we were 22km slower on the plains, so we lost a hundred meters in each round. We need to improve here.

We know what we need to fix and we hope that we will partially succeed in Barcelona, ​​”added Horner.

The next races in Spain and Monte Carlo could also be a turning point due to the configuration of both tracks, which should better suit Red Bull. In both cases, the vacuum is more important and not so much the engine power, unlike the first four races, where the two Mercedes cars were unrivaled.

Mercedes' engine is more powerful than Renault's, which drives a Red Bull RB10 race car, which is supposed to be better at creating aerodynamic traction or vacuum.

“The Red Bulls are very fast in fast corners, which may indicate that they have a bit more vacuum than we do,” explained Mercedes racer Lewis Hamilton.

The aerodynamic advantage is probably not big enough, so the upgrade of the powertrain prepared by Renault for the race in Spain will be of great help, and at the same time the team from Milton Keynes is expected to receive a new, better fuel from the technology partner Total. to two to three tenths of a better time per lap.

Alain Prost, a four-time world champion, believes Red Bull will catch Mercedes in the next few races.

“Renault needs to work hard and constantly improve,” he said. “Let’s wait for two or three more races. Then the balance of power may be completely different, ”he added.