Official: Upgrades for the Red Bull of Verstappen and Albon at Belgian GP

The Belgian Grand Prix is the next one on the calendar and with the abolition of party mode Red Bull Racing - and especially Helmut Marko - sees it as very rosy for Max Verstappen. Marko indicated earlier that there might be a chance to fight for pole position. That's not the only good news, also the RB16 will get upgrades.

The gap should be smaller

The primary goal is (again) to close the gap to Mercedes and although the type of tyres used is a variable factor - see the first and second Grand Prix at Silverstone - that is not enough to provide certainty. Red Bull Racing must continue to develop and that's the challenge this season. There is very little time between the triple-headers and short rest periods, yet Red Bull is making progress.

For example, Auto, Motor und Sport quotes Red Bull Racing's team advisor who says there are upgrades on the way. "This should bring a noticeable improvement on the side of the chassis", said Marko. But whether it is enough to really narrow the gap to Mercedes is difficult to estimate, says team boss Christian Horner.

"That depends on how long the season will last. We have to see how many races there will be, at the moment we are driving until December and that gives us time to perform as much as possible." In addition, Mercedes will also come with upgrades for Spa and Monza that are focused on performance, so the question is whether the gap will really narrow or whether upgrades will keep the same for both teams.

No more party fashion

What would help Red Bull Racing on paper is the abolition of party mode, as already mentioned. The performance disadvantage of the Honda would be smaller due to an abolishment, but Red Bull keeps a slap on the arm. This way Helmut Marko remains realistic, because Mercedes was simply superior in almost everything to date.

"Not only were they superior in qualifying, but also in the starting lap, in the pits, in the outlap, in overtaking and defending. Over the distance our deficit should be smaller." At the same time Mercedes team boss Wolff said again that by banning the mode they would put less load on the engine and therefore they have more power again in the race, so it simply shifts in that sense.

Finally, it is clear from Marko's words that Red Bull Racing is not giving up at all. Something that Jan Lammers illustrated beautifully through the Formula 1 podcast of Radio 1 earlier this week.