Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has tipped Red Bull to be back on full form as Formula 1 returns to more conventional tracks starting with this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
The competition has capitalised on Red Bull’s persistent weakness with absorbing kerbs and bumps being exposed at the recent rounds’ unique track characteristics.
McLaren brought updates in Miami that enabled Lando Norris to seize his maiden win, while Charles Leclerc triumphed in Monaco when Red Bull wasn’t in contention.
However, the round in Barcelona will commence a triple header with the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone where aerodynamic efficiency is essential to unlocking lap time.
With Red Bull’s RB20 car still a class apart in that department, Leclerc is anticipating the Austrian squad to become the established team to beat through the summer.
“I feel like the strength of Red Bull will be more visible on a track like Barcelona,” Leclerc said.
“But let’s wait and see. And behind [Red Bull] I think we’ll all be pretty close.”
George Russell utilised Mercedes’ renewed competitiveness at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to land pole position and then the team’s first podium this term with third.
But like Leclerc, the Briton has cautioned that he expects Red Bull to be the benchmark during the upcoming races when the potential of its car is not being restricted.
“It’s no secret they’ve struggled a bit with their car these last three races. Yet they’ve still won two of the last three,” Russell acknowledged.
“So I expect them to probably take a small step when we go back to the European races on more conventional circuits.
“We need to see how their performance turns out in Barcelona, but this pace increase that we’ve seen from us this weekend,
it hasn’t been a surprise to us because all the numbers back at the factory told us we’re going to be finding a big chunk of performance with these upgrades.
“So Barcelona is going to be interesting for everybody, but I’m confident we can be in the fight.”
Meanwhile, McLaren’s Lando Norris has admitted that Mercedes has caught up to the leading trio and has added another dimension to the evolving battle at the top.
“If they’re quicker in the next few races, too, and they’ve kind of joined the fight of Ferrari, Red Bull, and us, then it’s only going to make our life more exciting,” he said.
“More tricky and more stressful because now there will probably be eight cars which are fighting up there and challenging us all together.
“So it’s exciting for us and probably everyone watching.”
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