Emerson Fittipaldi hints at powershift in Red Bull/Ferrari battle

Former Formula 1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi has suggested that Red Bull might now be the team to beat in the fight with Ferrari at the front of the field.

The Imola Grand Prix certainly went the way of the Bulls over the weekend, with Max Verstappen taking the victory and Sergio Perez finishing in second place to seal a one-two for the team from Milton Keynes.

Ferrari, meanwhile, saw Carlos Sainz skittled out at the first chicane by Daniel Ricciardo in the McLaren whilst Charles Leclerc, pushing hard to take P2 from Perez, found himself spinning into the wall and dropping to an eventual P6 come the chequered flag.

Indeed, it was the first time Ferrari had a difficult weekend as a whole team this season, and Fittipaldi actually thinks he’s seen signs Red Bull could now be the team to beat instead of the Scuderia:

“My forecast was going to be Ferrari to win but when I look at the sprint race and I was looking at the details, it seems to me that the Red Bull has, in my opinion, mechanical and aerodynamic improvement.

“They seem to be a little better than Ferrari. In mechanical, there’s been an improvement. Downforce, because when the tires start wearing, you remember Max was very fast, that means he stays with the tires on a much better performance than the Ferraris.

“The Ferraris have an extremely fast engine. Ferrari to me, looking on TV, was porpoising. Was moving up and down a lot. The Ferraris still don’t have the same downforce and mechanical grip as a Red Bull car.

“In my opinion, Red Bull is superior now. And that superiority of grip will give much better and consistent tires. They wear less tires than the Ferrari. And that will be very important during the year.

“I was very impressed by their braking,