Piastri makes bold Red Bull admission that could worry Mercedes

After an opening phase of the season in which Mercedes dominated and Ferrari were their only challengers for race victories, before McLaren joined the fight midway through the campaign, Red Bull have worked their way back up the pecking order in the closing stages.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit's resurgence allowed the four-time world champion to claim the 72nd victory of his Formula 1 career last Sunday, delivering a commanding performance in the process.

Speaking to GPblog and other media ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, the McLaren driver highlighted the significant progress Red Bull have made since introducing upgrades in Baku, suggesting their improved performance may have gone somewhat unnoticed due to their qualifying positions and Max Verstappen's engine problems.

He believes Verstappen could have challenged George Russell throughout the Azerbaijan Grand Prix had he started further up the grid, rather than only putting the Mercedes driver under pressure in the closing stages. Red Bull's progress became even more apparent in Malaysia, where he considered Verstappen and his car to be the strongest combination on the grid.

“I think if he had started at the front in Baku, I think it would've...he put George under a lot of pressure at the end of the race, but I think he would've put George under a lot of pressure for the whole race. And then, obviously, in Malaysia, he was definitely the quickest car and driver combination.”

Piastri also acknowledged that rival teams are continuing to make gains, with McLaren and Ferrari regularly trading places in terms of competitiveness. While he still regards Mercedes as the benchmark throughout the season, he believes Red Bull have now reached a similar level of performance over the past couple of races.