Ahead Of F1 GP Imola: Red Bull's Dominance Is Starting To Be Threatened By Competitors

F1 Red Bull Racing driver, Sergio Perez. (Motorsport Image/Steven Tee)

JAKARTA - Ferrari Team Head Frederic Vasseur has expressed his belief that the top position and dominance of Red Bull have begun to be threatened by other manufacturers such as his team and McLaren.

This follows Lando Norris' first victory (McLaren) at the Miami Grand Prix, as well as two Ferrari riders, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who are consistently in front row in every race series this season.

"I think McLaren and we (Ferrari) may be making a bit of trouble for Red Bull (this season)," Vasseur said, quoted from the official website of Formula 1, Friday.

This confidence also comes from the fact that Red Bull lost two of the six opening races of the 2024 season. The first non-Red Bull win of the season was from Sainz who won at the Australian GP.

This is certainly very different from last year's Red Bull dominance, which sensationally the manufacturer and Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez won 21 out of 22 races.

Furthermore, Vasseur believes that Red Bull still has a chance to win upcoming races, but it should be remembered that other teams also continue to develop from technical and non-technical aspects to shift the confidence of the defending champion team.

"When we were able to do a good job and do everything together, we were on the right track. That is, we put them under a little pressure, and they have to be more aggressive in formulating strategies," Vasseur said.

"They (Red Bull) are no longer in the comfort zone like last year. I think this is an opportunity for us. If we can do a small step again, I think we will be in a very good position to compete with them every weekend," he said.

Despite losing in Miami, Red Bull still leads the constructors' standings with 239 points, 52 points ahead of Ferrari and 63 points ahead of McLaren.

Meanwhile, the seventh round of Formula 1 2024, namely the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, will take place at home to Ferrari, namely Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari or the Imola Circuit, on May 17-19.