Red Bull set for 'significant time gain' in fight with Ferrari for F1 title

Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko says that the team is set to bring a significant car upgrade to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix which could give it a crucial advantage in Formula 1 title race with Ferrari.

With Mercedes languishing further down the order this season as they struggle with their new W13 car, Ferrari and Red Bull have emerged as the two frontrunners on the grid, and drivers Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen seem set to compete for the drivers’ championship as things stand.

Both drivers have won a race each in the opening two rounds but Red Bull have been struggling to bring the weight of their car down so far this campaign. The Milton Keynes-based outfit are trying to drop towards the minimum weight required by the rulebook, which is set at 795kg.

Now, Marko says that a significant boost should come at the Imola race which follows the Australian Grand Prix.

‘The Ferrari is a car that is always fast, in all conditions [regardless of] temperature or tyres,’ Marko told Austrian TV station Servus. ‘Our car is definitely more difficult to tune, but we will lose some weight in Imola. That should give us a significant time advantage, time gain in other words.

The F1 running order has been shaken up because of a regulation change brought in to try and improve the quality of racing. Teams have been forced to redesign their cars from scratch and while Red Bull seem to have nailed the transition, the likes of Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin have not.

Marko was keen to praise Ferrari and driver Leclerc in particular, whose tactics when battling Verstappen at the front have impressed in the opening two races of the season.

‘I think we are in a good position, but we have an almost equal opponent in Ferrari.