Red Bull Upgrades Deemed a Step Back by Mercedes

Mercedes F1 asserts Red Bull’s latest upgrades have set the team back, describing them as a downgrade in various aspects.

James Allison, the Technical Director of Mercedes F1, stated that Red Bull’s recent decline in Formula 1 could be attributed to an evolution that turned out to be a downgrade.

After winning four of the first five races of the season, Red Bull has only clinched one of the last three, with McLaren and Ferrari securing victories in Miami and Monaco, respectively.

The team faced significant challenges throughout testing in Imola, before Max Verstappen narrowly propelled the RB20 to pole and victory. However, difficulties with the kerbs and bumps in Monaco took the world champion out of contention, allowing McLaren and Ferrari to battle for the win.

Allison expects Red Bull to be back in the race in Canada but noted there is hope regarding the impact, or lack thereof, of their Imola upgrade.

“I think given their pace here, they’ll be back in the game. But it appears their upgrade was a downgrade in several respects, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.”

“It makes life tough when that happens, you lose confidence in your tools, have to backtrack, and lose a lot of time. Time is your best friend, but losing it is your worst enemy.”

“Everyone always loves to see others’ misfortune in this game.”

As for Mercedes itself, the team is greatly encouraged by the steps it has taken over the last two race weekends to close the gap with the top three teams.

“Where we are now seems a bit better than where we were two races ago.”

“And I hope we’ll be a bit better in a few races from now, as we’ve gone from being really not good enough at the start of the year to being close to fighting with the top three. A little more, and we’ll be right in the mix.”