Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari boss snubs Red Bull threat

Fred Vasseur has demurred on the idea that Red Bull are currently the team to beat in F1, after Max Verstappen swept the Singapore Grand Prix weekend.

The Dutchman has taken the maximum 68 points from the last two race weekends, and was just 0.196s from taking victory in Baku to take every available point from the recent triple-header.

Vasseur insisted that the resurgent Red Bull team aren't the team to beat as things stand, pointing out that the season has seen four different teams look like the class of the field at various races and at various periods this year, including his own.

The Frenchman has very much experienced those highs and lows this season, having recently gone five races without either of his drivers securing a podium finish straight after Charles Leclerc finished first and second at back-to-back races.

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Vasseur: Red Bull are good, but not the team to beat

George Russell called Red Bull 'the team to beat' after Verstappen's dominant win in Singapore, but when the idea was put to Vasseur he replied: “Not sure.

“Honestly, they are doing very well, but it's not the team to beat. If you look at the McLaren and Mercedes, if you have a look from the beginning of the season, Mercedes was flying, then we won two races, then McLaren won two races, then Red Bull won two or three.

“I think it's changing, because quite often you have four teams, I think yesterday you had four teams in less than two races.

“It means that if someone is bringing upgrades next week, the classification can change. But the most important thing is to be focused on ourselves, not to think about the others.”

He also claimed that the first lap of last Sunday's race at the Marina Bay Circuit was crucial in deciding the race, explaining: “It was clear for us even when we were lapping cars, that as soon as you were two, three seconds behind, you were struggling more.

“It was clear all the laps that we were lapping someone. For sure, you lose time when you overtake, but even before, when you were two, three seconds behind, it was difficult. It means that the position in Turn 1 was critical.”

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