Rivals’ upgrades signal trouble for Red Bull

Max Verstappen claimed his fifth win in seven races this year to extend his lead as he seeks a fourth consecutive drivers’ title. But Red Bull face a genuine threat to their supremacy led by McLaren and Ferrari.

That was the stark conclusion to draw after Lando Norris came home less than a second behind the championship-leading Dutchman in Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Here, AFP looks at three things we learnt amid the passions and emotions stirred at the “old-school” Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

Norris excited

Two weeks after beating his friend Verstappen to claim his maiden victory in Miami, Norris and his McLaren team oozed renewed confidence after seeing the Red Bull juggernaut struggle to the line.

Another lap and it might have been a different outcome. With 19 laps remaining, Norris was eight seconds adrift, but as they crossed the line, it was just 0.725 seconds.

After his Florida fanfare, this was endorsement that McLaren’s latest upgrades had lifted them into contention, while Red Bull appear to have lost the indestructible aura of recent years.

"One or two more laps and I think I would have had him" 🤏

Lando was giving everything to try and beat Max before the chequered flag#F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/um7WqmKXlG

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 20, 2024

“The cars are converging after the latest upgrades – McLaren and Ferrari were very quick at this circuit,” admitted Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

“Hopefully it continues,” said Norris, adding that there is “no reason to deny” McLaren are now fighting for victories.

“It’s exciting. It’s tough. It gets you excited every weekend so I’m looking forward to the next few races. We were also second in China so we’ve been second, first, second, and I think it’s a good sign.”

Ferrari need qualifying pace

Charles Leclerc’s popular podium finish, Ferrari’s first at Imola since Michael Schumacher won in 2006, provoked a red sea of Tifosi celebrations, but the Italian team need to improve their qualifying to catch the leaders.

Team boss Fred Vasseur, who has guided the scarlet Scuderia deftly back into close contention, admitted their hopes of winning were lost on Saturday, not Sunday.

The Tifosi join the post-race celebrations on-track at Imola 😍

Definitely one for the F1 bucket list!#F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/UZ8SpUfAcl

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 20, 2024

“I think that if we had done better, if we had been 1-2 in qualifying, we would do 1-2 in the race,” he said.

“We are close. What is true for us is that we are at the point now where we will have to speed up the development of the car. Imagine if someone can bring an upgrade one race earlier than the others, when you have three teams within one-tenth (of each other), you can jump from P5 to P1.

“It is very close and it means that we’ll have to speed up the time to market. It is crucial. We must pay attention because we are now chasing the last hundredths (of a second).”Leclerc and Sainz finished third and fifth on Sunday.

Verstappen has the talent

While his rivals anticipate Red Bull’s relative decline, Verstappen continued to prove he has a talent for squeezing more from his car than might be expected on a difficult day.

Just information 🙂

Max and GP checking in as the Dutchman battled to hold off Lando#F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/vG6WDcJVlg

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 20, 2024

Short of comfort and confidence after two problematic days’ practice, he and his crew pulled out an unexpected pole position lap and then pulled clear at the start of the race to create a lead he could defend for his 59th career victory.

AFP