Are Red Bull no longer as dominant as the were in 2023? '50% closer'

After Max Verstappen's dominant victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix, you almost wouldn't say it, but the gap to Red Bull Racing's rivals is quite a bit smaller than last season.

In Bahrain, Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen managed to secure his 55th race victory. With a lead of a whopping 22.457 seconds over second place, the Dutchman was once again a lot faster than the rest of the field. Still, Red Bull's lead over the competition is not as big as in the 2023 season.

Ferrari a lot closer to Red Bull than last season

The gap between Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen has halved compared to 2023. At the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix, Sainz finished in fourth place with a gap to the Dutchman of 48.052 seconds. In 2024, Sainz finished in third place with a difference to the Dutchman of 25.110 seconds in Bahrain. So the rest of the field is closer to the Red Bulls than last season. Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur is delighted with this progress. ''One year ago in the race, we were at eight, nine tenths. Perhaps today we did 50% of the gap, but again, we are not there to be at four tenths. But if you go back with last year and the recovery that we had during the season, that we were able to fight with them, I think we have a good opportunity'', Vasseur told GPblog and others in a press briefing.

The French team boss thinks it will be easier to get even closer to the Red Bulls this season. ''It's also a much better base to develop this year. I think the car, it's much easier for them to feel the car, to understand where we are weak and where we can improve. When last year, it was much more difficult to have a good read of the car.''