Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan has outlined the races in which they expect to further improve their lap time as the all-important development battle continues.
The new $140 million budget cap this year has meant that teams have needed to adopt a slightly different approach to spending money on upgrades, and there have been varying degrees of caution.
While Ferrari have been circumspect in bringing major changes to their car, Red Bull have opted for a more aggressive strategy.
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They introduced a big upgrade in Imola that helped Max Verstappen win there and in Miami, before both the Austrian side and Ferrari made changes to their cars in Spain two weeks ago – Verstappen and Perez won those races respectively.
There were suggestions that, to stay within the confines of the spending limit, the teams would need to stop upgrading after the Canadian Grand Prix, but Monaghan indicates that Red Bull have plenty left in the pipeline.
“At the moment, I would say we are quite happy with our work as we are doing it, and I think Baku will get everyone going in a particular direction,” he said.
“I think Silverstone could make a bit of a difference to us and at Spielberg it will be a bit of the same.
“In Hungary, I expect there will be a change again, but that’s the nature of the track and how we exploit our lap time best.
“At the moment, I’d say our work is reasonably good, but when we get to Abu Dhabi we might have got it right or wrong.”
The Briton also places an emphasis on keeping the car cool in particularly hot and humid races such as Hungary and Singapore.
“I guess if you look ahead to Hungary or Singapore, possibly we will take parts to those particular races, and then…where else might we need more brake cooling? Probably in Spielberg and Baku we will have a slightly different set-up,” explained Monaghan.
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Before Ferrari’s strategic nightmare in Monaco, they had looked far the stronger team than Red Bull throughout the weekend, so Monaghan admits that the Scuderia have a clear advantage in tracks with low-speed corners.
However, with the rate at which the new cars are evolving, the 54-year-old explains that it might not stay that way forever.
“They [Ferrari] tend to be quite strong at low speed and we do it in other areas of the circuit,” stated Monaghan.
“There’s a big visual difference if you look from time to time at how we have achieved our lap time and they have achieved theirs.
“Are they stuck in that pattern? I don’t know. Are we stuck in ours? No, not at all. We are open to change and if you stand still in this sport, you can often get left behind.”
Red Bull lead Ferrari by 36 points in the Constructors’ Championship having completely turned the tide since the Australian Grand Prix.