Red Bull appear to be slightly concerned about the true pace of Ferrari ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, with the Austrians having admitted that they “really don’t know” the Italians’ true potential.
This weekend’s race at the Bahrain International Circuit is going to be absolutely fascinating, with it being the first time that all the teams will show what their true potential is.
Whilst pre-season testing last weekend made Red Bull and Aston Martin look incredibly strong, very little can be taken from it, with every team running completely different setups.
Mercedes, for example, used the wrong rear wing during the test, meaning their actual straight-line speed won’t truly be discovered until Free Practice 1 on Friday.
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The likelihood is, though, that Red Bull will be fighting for the win, with the Milton Keynes-based team believing they “know” what Mercedes and Aston Martin are set to bring to the opening round.
They have no idea, though, what threat Ferrari will offer them, with there being a real sense of secrecy amongst the Scuderia.
“Talking with a source extremely close to Red Bull, confirmed me: “we know where is Mercedes (more or less), we know where is Aston, we really don’t know where will be Ferrari!”” said F1 journalist Giuliano Duchessa.
New Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur refused to give anything away to the media during testing, with the Frenchman having given away absolutely nothing in regard to where the Italians might find themselves in the pecking order come Sunday.
Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko is certainly wary of the Maranello-based team and their incredibly powerful engine, which has reportedly been increased by 30hp during the off-season.
Ferrari will likely have a great advantage on the straights; however, the Italians appear to have issues when it comes to corners, an area they excelled in last season.
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Marko is confident that Red Bull’s overall package will “compensate” their deficit on the straights, with the Austrian hailing the RB19 as the “complete package”.
“They have increased the horsepower,” Marko told OE24.
“On the straights they can beat us, but we compensate with the complete package.”