Red Bull and Max Verstappen have won four out of the first six races in 2024. And they will argue nobody has beaten them on pure pace just yet.
Verstappen had qualified on pole for the Australian Grand Prix in March but then had to retire with brake issues early in the race. That effectively handed victory to Carlos Sainz and Ferrari.
Then, last time out in Miami, Lando Norris capitalised on a perfectly-timed safety car to leapfrog Verstappen in the pecking order. He was quicker than the Dutchman after the restart, but he may not have had the opportunity to win without a slice of luck.
Remarkably, Red Bull have already missed out on more victories than they did in the entirety of 2023. The Bulls rattled off 21 wins from 22 races last year, with Sainz’s triumph in Singapore all that denied them a clean sweep.
Technically, they could still win more Grands Prix outright, because this year’s calendar spans 24 races. But if you go by win percentage, then they can no longer match last year’s dominance.
It looks as if the battle at the front will be noticeably closer, even if Verstappen remains the overwhelming title favourite. Red Bull’s departing chief technical officer Adrian Newey recently admitted that they’re ‘struggling’ to unlock more pace in a nearly-perfect concept, and that may be a growing issue.
Red Bull chief Helmut Marko says he doesn’t fear Lando Norris
McLaren brought an ‘astonishing’ upgrade to Miami, and it made £310k-a-week star Norris (Spotrac) quicker than Verstappen in race trim. Christian Horner pointed to floor damage, but the 26-year-old had doubts over that explanation.
Speaking to OE24, Red Bull executive director Helmut Marko insisted he wasn’t ‘worried’ by the emerging threat. Norris remains 53 points behind in the drivers’ standings, the equivalent of more than two race wins.
Marko is optimistic that Red Bull can respond in Imola with a fresh upgrade of their own. But he also warned his team that they must stay focused.
The build-up to the race in Miami was dominated by an off-track story as Newey handed in his resignation. That may have been a distraction for the world champions.
“No, I’m not worried, Norris is over 50 points behind,” Marko said. “We are also bringing an upgrade to Imola that I expect a lot from. But Miami shows that we have to concentrate on sports.”
Ferrari also set to bring ‘massive’ upgrade to Imola
While the focus right now is on a resurgent McLaren, Ferrari will be the team to watch in Imola next weekend. That’s because they’re about to introduce a ‘massive’ set of developments.
Staff at Maranello expect the updates to be worth as much as three-tenths of a second in qualifying trim, and even more in the races. If those calculations prove accurate, then they could challenge for victory, depending on how much progress Red Bull make.
According to Karun Chandhok, the mood at Ferrari is bullish. Neutrals will hope that a genuine three-team fight is in the offing.
Ferrari started the year as the closest challengers to Red Bull, with at least one of their cars on the podium in each of the first four races before McLaren edged ahead. The landscape is now set to shift again at the Emilia Romagna GP.
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