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'Ferrari have 5hp lead over Red Bull and 10hp lead over Mercedes in 2022'

'Ferrari have 5hp lead over Red Bull and 10hp lead over Mercedes in 2022'

19-05-2022 10:13 Last update: 10:38
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GPblog.com

The battle between Ferrari and Red Bull Racing will continue again at the Spanish Grand Prix. Both teams know their own strengths, but also know where there are gains to be made in the rest of the Formula One season.

Power of Ferrari

After an exciting title battle in 2021 between Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, Ferrari has taken Mercedes' place in 2022. Ferrari is especially strong in the corners and generally has more grip, where the RB18 of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez is mainly a rocket on the straights. Still, Ferrari wins out in terms of engine power.

Auto, Motor und Sport reports that calculations by Red Bull and Mercedes show that the Ferrari engine is currently four kilowatts (equivalent to 5.4hp) ahead of Red Bull Powertrain (Honda engine) and eight kilowatts (10.8hp) ahead of Mercedes. This could grow further as Ferrari still has an update for the hybrid part of the engine in reserve, and for reliability reasons the team has also not always set the engine to full power yet.

Red Bull on a diet

Red Bull, however, has an advantage when it comes to weight, according to AMuS. Ferrari and Red Bull are both said to be off the lower limit of 798kg, but Ferrari reportedly still has a lead of seven kilograms, which Red Bull says is equivalent to three tenths.

However, Ferrari still has an advantage over Red Bull Racing until June 30. The third place among the constructors in 2021 means that Ferrari has 80 percent of the time in the wind tunnel at its disposal, whereas Red Bull has to make do with 75 percent due to a second place last year. The score on June 30 will determine which of the two teams will then have the advantage.