autoevolution
 

Ferrari Says They Have Wiped Away Red Bull’s High-Speed Advantage on the Straights

Scuderia Ferrari is confident that it has wiped away Red Bull’s significant top speed advantage on the straights, leaving the differences in DRS prowess between their two teams “negligible.”
Max Verstappen fighting with Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, 2022 6 photos
Photo: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Max Verstappen fighting with Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, 2022Max Verstappen fighting with Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, 2022Max Verstappen fighting with Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, 2022Max Verstappen fighting with Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, 2022Max Verstappen fighting with Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, 2022
When the 2022 F1 season first kicked off, it was obvious that Ferrari and Red Bull went about designing their cars very differently. The Ferraris were clearly better in slow and medium corners, while the Red Bulls pulled away on the straights and in very fast corners.

Fast forward to Austria last weekend and Ferrari looked every bit as quick as Red Bull on the straights, which the team says is down to a new low-drag wing that was first used by Leclerc in Canada, as reported by Motorsport.

When asked if the balance of performance between themselves and Red Bull has changed, Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto had this to say: “We had a disadvantage compared to the Red Bull, no doubt, in terms of straight-line speed, especially in DRS zones.”

“In terms of power of their DRS, compared to ours, we worked a lot on it. So, the new rear wing that we introduced first with Charles in Canada, we have had it on both cars since UK.”

“And with that new rear wing, I think we have simply reduced the gap we had in terms of speed. I think they still have got a slight advantage, but it’s very little or negligible.”

Meanwhile, traction-wise, Binotto believes there’s nothing separating his team and Red Bull, although he does apparently think Leclerc and Sainz are in a better position to exploit all that grip, compared to Verstappen and Perez.

“In the power limited [corners], we are very close,” he said. “Then it’s only about the grip limited corners where we can make the difference.”

“I think [in Austria] we have been fast, not only because of the car, but because I think the two drivers made a fantastic weekend in terms of car balance, car setup, understanding the tires, managing the tires and driving on track.”
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Sergiu Tudose
Sergiu Tudose profile photo

Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories