Red Bull’s performance in Valencia worries Ferrari

On the evening of the European Grand Prix, held last weekend in Valencia, disappointment prevailed in the Red Bull camp as the safety car and an alternator failure on the number one RB8 had ruined a race that Sebastian Vettel was dominating. Before the safety car’s intervention, Sebastian Vettel was indeed leading single-handedly, allowing him to have more than a twenty-second lead over his closest pursuer, Romain Grosjean.

Consequently, the men from Milton Keynes could only take away positives from their misfortune: « [Sebastian Vettel] had phenomenal pace, and we leave Valencia knowing we have a fast car, » consoled Christian Horner. While the Austrian team arrived in Spain with a car that many observers have called the RB8-B, the competition is already worried that the European Grand Prix may have marked the first step in the return of Red Bull’s dominance in F1: « The Red Bulls were phenomenally fast, and it was unexpected, » stated Jenson Button.

On the Maranello side, despite the comfort of Fernando Alonso’s victory, there is also concern: “The Red Bull we saw this weekend is certainly the fastest in terms of performance. In the race, they were able to maintain the pace and be very strong, so it’s something we need to keep in mind,” analyzes Stefano Domenicali, director of the Italian team. “We know our goal [the title, ed.] is at the end of November, but we also know they did something very well this weekend. Yes, they had a reliability issue, but we are not really at the level where we should be in terms of pure performance.”

But the competition doesn’t seem to be the only one caught by surprise: « It was surprising even for us. We didn’t expect to take 20 seconds in 20 laps. Until the safety car intervened, I had an extra pit-stop margin, which is extremely unusual this year, » confessed the double German world champion after the race. He doesn’t hide the obvious, namely that the new developments worked well: « We found more grip everywhere and it had a positive impact on tire performance. »

For Jaime Alguersuari, a former member of the Red Bull team and consultant for the BBC, Red Bull’s performance in Valencia serves as a free warning to the competition: Red Bull produced a fantastic development effort for their car in Valencia, modifying the aerodynamics at the rear, and it’s quite evident, given Vettel’s pace throughout the weekend, that they now have the most competitive car. There is a good performance difference between their rivals and them, and they can close the gap. The championship is long, anything can happen, but Red Bull seems to be in the best position [to win] at the moment.

The rivals of Red Bull must not sit back and do nothing to avoid being overwhelmed again by the blue wave. In any case, these are not the intentions of Luca di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari: “I am worried, and we should all be,” the Italian confided to the Italian press gathered this Wednesday in Maranello. “Yes, I am worried because I expect three very tough races at Silverstone, Hockenheim, and Budapest, and because we have seen that Red Bull is very strong, having taken four-tenths off everyone in qualifying and flying away in the race, at least until the safety car. If we want to achieve our goals, then we must take a step forward. We find ourselves leading the championship even though we don’t have the best car. Now, we must ensure that we do everything possible because victory depends only on us. It would be a big mistake to think that the victory in Valencia means we have done enough: today, we have a competitive car, but to win, we must do even more.”

But until then, the legality of the RB8, already questioned during the Monaco Grand Prix, will undoubtedly continue to be a topic of debate, especially as Mark Webber’s car narrowly passed the post-race inspection in Valencia, with officials giving, according to Autosprint, particular attention to the angle of inclination of the rear suspension arms of the Australian’s car.