Situation hardens: 'Only peace in F1 as long as there is nothing at stake'

At the beginning of the current season, Red Bull Racing and Ferrari were fighting a sporting battle for the lead in the world championship. Both teams received many compliments for this, but over the last few race weekends the situation seems to have changed.

Last weekend, the situation was highlighted by Helmut Marko, among others, who stated that Charles Leclerc deserved a penalty after qualifying. The Monegasque accidentally drove past the weighbridge, which, according to the Austrian, should be punished.

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto, for his part, dropped that he was surprised by the speed with which Red Bull came up with updates last month. According to him, this had to mean that the racing stable would have less to spend later in the season because otherwise, it would be above the budget ceiling.

Logical battle between Red Bull and Ferrari

Journalist Michael Schmidt thinks it is logical that the relationships are slowly changing. "There is only peace in Formula 1 as long as there is nothing at stake," he notes at Auto, Motor und Sport. "Once victories and the title are at stake, the fronts harden. That was the case between Mercedes and Ferrari between 2017 and 2019 and between Mercedes and Red Bull in 2020 and 2021."