Red Bull chief fires DIG at F1 rivals in brutally honest assessment

Senior Red Bull figures Pierre Wache and Christian Horner on the pitwall — Photo: © IMAGO

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Red Bull chief fires DIG at F1 rivals in brutally honest assessment

A not-so-subtle shot taken at the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes

Kevin McKenna

Tuesday 6 August 2024 08:57 Updated: 12:24

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A senior figure at Red Bull has taken a swipe at the likes of McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari in a recent interview.

The reigning Formula 1 constructors' champions currently lead the 2024 standings and remain on course to add a third title in as many years.

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However, unlike recent championship-winning bids, this season has been far from plain sailing for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Defending drivers' champion Max Verstappen has been some way off his dominant best while team-mate Sergio Perez has endured a dismal drop-off in form, picking up just 28 points from his last eight outings.

McLaren - spearheaded by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri - have emerged as the biggest threat to Red Bull's dominance, while both Ferrari and Mercedes have clinched rare race victories in 2024.

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen have struggled for consistency in 2024

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have each secured maiden F1 wins this year

Red Bull chief digs at rivals

Now, speaking to Autosport.com, Red Bull's technical director Pierre Wache has said he is surprised the team's rivals did not catch them sooner.

"We expected the opposition to come earlier, to be honest with you," Wache explained.

"When we started the 2022 season, we didn’t have the quickest car - Ferrari had the quickest car in the beginning of 2022.

"We expected a massive competition in 2023, but that didn’t happen.

Lewis Hamilton won for the first time since 2021 at this year's British GP

"In 2024 we also expected the competition to be there more or less from the start, because the performance you can find with the car is limited under the same regulations.

"After the first four or five races the others came back, maybe with a bit of delay, but we expected that from the start.

"The limitations you have with these regulations are quite high and what you can find to make more steps is getting more difficult.

"Then it is almost sure that the opposition will come back at some point."

Red Bull Max Verstappen Ferrari Mercedes McLaren Lando Norris