Has Red Bull passed Mercedes? "If Mercedes has come to a standstill, then yes"

Red Bull Racing has had an excellent winter test. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez drove many laps and there were no major problems. Mercedes on the other hand, again the favourite this year, clearly has more work to do and although that paints a more competitive picture Helmut Marko doesn't want to fly the flag too soon. Mercedes after all, as the championship team, is capable of a lot. Nevertheless, it all looks very good for Verstappen's team.

More consistent car

In an interview with Auto, Motor und Sport, Helmut Marko is asked about how the car compares to last year's RB16. "Our car is more consistent. We had that in the specifications and it's a car that is fast on all circuits and doesn't budge." Where the car was quite nervous last year, Marko continued: "Mercedes has that now. The car looks very nervous."

That problem is no longer an issue at Red Bull, which is of course a good development, but there is more to it than that. The Mercedes engine has always been very strong and reliable. Something Honda is trying to emulate. The reliability is now in order, but in recent years there was still a clear difference in strength. For this year Honda has produced a new engine and Marko is very happy with it.

Standstill at Mercedes?

"It's a step forward, both in terms of performance and drivability," says Marko, but he is cautious in his wording. For example, he doesn't want to directly state that they have overtaken Mercedes. "If Mercedes has come to a standstill, then yes. But we're not assuming that. But I don't think the gap is as big as last year when Mercedes indeed reacted to Ferrari 's amazing horsepower increase and made a huge push themselves."

In other words: Marko expects Red Bull and Mercedes to be really close this year. In theory, this also means more chances of a real battle for the championship, in which Sergio Perez may well play a crucial role.