Ferrari believe they have made inroads into the straight-line speed advantage Red Bull gains from the configuration of their Drag Reduction System since last year.
The reigning world champions made a dominant start to the new season, winning all three rounds from pole position. The straight-line speed of their RB19 is one of its key strengths, particularly when its drivers are able to use DRS.
The Red Bull drivers comfortably headed the speed trap figures in qualifying at the last two races. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur acknowledged their rival’s car produces a “mega-big DRS effect, bigger than everybody else.”
“We have to understand how they are able to do something like this,” he added. However he believes Red Bull’s advantage in this area is not as great as it was last year.
“I think we compensated part of the gap,” he said. “It was probably even more obvious last year. We compensated part of the gap but we need to do improve on this area.”
Vasseur admitted Ferrari had expected to make greater gains in this area of Red Bull’s superiority during the off-season.
“The difference was probably bigger last year but perhaps we were expecting to compensate a bit more,” he said. “Now for sure we have room for improvement on this area, but they are doing something different and they are doing something better for sure. But we are on it.”
Qualifying speed trap top three
Bahrain Grand Prix
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
| Position | Number | Driver | Car | Engine | Model | Max kph (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | Red Bull | RB19 | 337.8 (209.9) |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Red Bull | RB19 | 337.5 (209.7) |
| 3 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | C43 | 335.8 (208.7) |
Australian Grand Prix
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2023 F1 season
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