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Too early to say that fight goes between Red Bull and Ferrari


Too early to say that fight goes between Red Bull and Ferrari

The first two races of the Formula 1 season have painted a clear picture of the current balance of power on the grid. Can it already be tentatively said that the title battle will be between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, or is it still too early for that?

Title battle definitely between Red Bull and Ferrari?

The current balance of power is clear. The RB18 and the F1-75 are very much matched and at the moment Red Bull and Ferrari are the teams to beat.

In the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix the teams proved successful with Leclerc and Verstappen behind the wheel, but in Jeddah Sergio Perez joined the contenders for victory. However, bad luck with the timing of his pit stop prevented the Mexican from showing whether he could have finished first.

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‘Verstappen played the same game with Leclerc as he did with Hamilton in 2021’

Meanwhile, there is still a wait-and-see attitude towards Mercedes: will the German racing stable be able to catch up? The team has a huge gap to bridge and no doubt they are working tooth and nail to solve the problems, but the gap is widening every race weekend.

For Mercedes, it looks worrying

Perhaps the most worrying is the poor form of the other Mercedes-powered teams. McLaren, Williams and Aston Martin are all holding out in the backfield, which could indicate a significant problem with Mercedes’ powerplant.

At the same time, all teams stated that the balance of power was not expected to become truly clear until after four or five races. In that case, there are still eighteen races left to catch up, but it is unlikely that Red Bull Racing and Ferrari will make a setback.

However, it is quite possible that other teams will eventually enter the fray and provide surprises. Those surprises could also come in the form of Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez. In Saudi Arabia they were also close to the pace of frontrunners Verstappen and Leclerc and are therefore certainly not to be overlooked.

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Too early to say that fight goes between Red Bull and Ferrari

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  • Too early to say that fight goes between Red Bull and Ferrari