“We won’t be as strong as that week in, week out,” Adrian Newey downplays RedBull’s dominant start

Newey believes Red Bull's success in Bahrain was like "ducks feet paddling under the water"

“We won’t be as strong as that week in, week out,” Adrian Newey downplays RedBull’s dominant start

Red Bull's CTO, Adrian Newey (Credits: PlanetF1)

Red Bull’s chief technical officer, Adrian Newey, has cautioned against reading too much into their dominant start to the season. The team’s reigning champion, Max Verstappen, stormed to victory in the season opener at Bahrain, finishing over 38 seconds ahead of the third-placed Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso. However, Newey believes their smooth performance was more like “ducks feet paddling under the water” and that the competition will get tougher over the coming months.

Despite Newey’s caution, Red Bull remains the favorite for the season, having won 17 of the 22 races last year. Mercedes is still fighting to overcome the difficulties that hampered them last year and is currently a second per lap slower during the race. On the other side, Ferrari on the other side is having a difficult start to the season, with Charles Leclerc already facing a ten-place grid penalty after retiring in Bahrain.

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The next race at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia is expected to suit Ferrari’s cars much better than Red Bull’s, with hopes of a more competitive battle at the front of the grid. However, all arrows currently point towards Red Bull as the runaway tone-setters.

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“I’m sure we won’t be as strong as that week in, week out,” Newey told Sky Sports News. Adrian Newey also noted that the team is aware of its rivals’ strengths and is not underestimating them. “These things can swing round very quickly. We’ve just got to keep pushing, and we’ll see where we get to.”

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Adrian Newey emphasizes the long season ahead, and Ferrari has just four races to catch up with Red Bull

Adrian Newey looking at Ferrari
Adrian Newey looking at Ferrari (Credits: Scuderia Ferrari Fans)

Newey remains focused on the long season ahead, saying, “It’s going to be a long year, 23 races, we’ve only got one down, so everybody will be pushing.” Despite the team’s dominance in Bahrain, Newey is not complacent and recognizes that their supremacy may not last.

Karun Chandhok of Sky Sports F1 agrees that the next four races will be crucial in determining whether Ferrari can compete with Red Bull. He believes that if Ferrari doesn’t return to the fight in the next four tracks, it will be hard to see them challenging Red Bull this season. “The next four tracks, if Ferrari don’t come back in the fight, then ask me after Miami, and I’ll have no answer. The next four tracks will determine whether Ferrari is in this fight,” he said.

Red Bull’s excellent start to the season has put them in the driver’s seat for the time being, but there is still much work to be done as competitors attempt to stay up with the Austrian squad and challenge their supremacy. Fans look forward to the next race in Jeddah to see if Red Bull can retain their dominant form, or if another team can stand up to the challenge.

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