5 races in and Red Bull has managed to overtake Ferrari already. After 2 scary DNFs for reigning champion Max Verstappen, the Austrian team brought in successful updates at Imola. Now, the Dutch prodigy stands only 19 points behind his rival Charles Leclerc. Moreover, Verstappen’s faster car has helped him present a severely dominant front in the last 2 races.
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Leading undisturbed at Imola, Max Verstappen completed the race with a grand slam at the Tifosi home ground. However, this was only the beginning, as even in Miami, the Ferrari couldn’t match Red Bull’s pace.
Even after a race restart, despite Leclerc’s intense trials, the Monegasque could not overtake Verstappen. Now, the anticipated developments are the only way out for Ferrari to stay at the top.
Ferrari is ready to present a budget report
Reportedly, team Ferrari will now present a report to the FIA. Amidst budget discussions for the development of cars, this report will help give an overview of how much a team has spent. This will give an idea of whether teams have complied with FIA’s regulations and in what ways. Understandably, Ferrari brings this report in a positive light, considering there are new elements they wish to highlight in cars.
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Earlier, Team Principal Mattia Binotto sounded concerned about the money put in by the Austrian outfit. He pointed out how there are budget restrictions and was a little doubtful of Red Bull’s sudden expenditures.
Explaining the situation, he said, “I hope that at some point Red Bull will stop development because there is also a budget limit, otherwise I don’t understand how they can afford it”
“We don’t have the money to update every single race, not because we can’t but because there is a budget constraint. We bring updates when we think the time is right.”
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The Budget cap variable is clearly an important point of contention. In fact, according to Binotto, “it could influence a sporting result”.
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Unsurprisingly, in order to catch up, the Maranello team are themselves in a hurry to bring in the updates. These updates that will focus on the weight and aerodynamics of the car, including flooring changes, will reportedly give a pace advantage to the F1-75.
The updates could guarantee up to 3-4 tenths of pace improvement that might just allow them to catch up to Red Bull.