The first part of the Formula One season is over after the Melbourne race. Riders can now enjoy a relatively quiet weekend before returning to the European circuit. Charles Leclerc’s victory in Albert Park means that Monegask and Ferrari can look forward to the upcoming period. Red Bull Racing has to work hard after Max Verstappen’s car is once again struggling with reliability issues. Together with racer Michael Bleekemolen looks like F1Maximaal.nl back to Ferrari’s dominance and Red Bull’s continuing problems during the Australian GP.
The Grands Prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia brought the viewer even more spectacular battles for the lead in racing. In Australia, fighting between passengers was limited to half-defense. For Bleekmolen, it was a two-faced race: “On the one hand, I enjoyed it, but on the other hand, I was disappointed. The fights in the midfield were very nice. at the forefront was never exciting.
Verstappen was able to stay behind Leclerc somewhat due to two moments in the safety car. Nevertheless, the Ferrari pilot never had any problems. Bleekemolen analyzes: “It was clear that Red Bull was much slower than Ferrari. Leclerc could easily make a difference for the riders behind him and then he didn’t have to look back. Then Max falls out with a relatively small problem. It’s always a shame to watch.
How soon should the problem be resolved in view of the Red Bull championship?
Due to Red Bull’s new problems, the racing stable is already well behind its rival Ferrari. A solution is needed to keep the dream of the title alive. “Of course it has to be done as soon as possible. Preferably before the Imola race, but I’m sure they will succeed. At the moment, I think these are just small problems with big consequences. In Bahrain, of course, there was a problem with fuel supply. Now it’s fuel cell, but the problems are not related. ‘
“During the race, it doesn’t matter if a small part of the car breaks or the engine blows up. The result will always be the same. However, Red Bull can clap that it’s a seemingly minor problem. even further.They will find a solution to this problem fairly quickly.If all is considered, of course it is also very important.This Ferrari car is very fast and very stable.So you have to intervene immediately if you want to have a real chance.
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Is Ferrari’s dominance a surprise?
“With the new regulations, you can never rule it out,” Bleekemolen answers a question about Maranello’s take-off. According to the 72-year-old pilot, this is part of Formula One. “There is always a team that comes out the best in such a rule change. Then they find some loopholes or other smart things, for example. Ferrari has just put together a very strong base car and that’s the most important thing. If the car’s basic concept isn’t good, there may be some development but it shall not be hastened.
“I was expecting Ferrari to come out one better than this rule change,” Bleekemolen continues. “But I also expected it from Mercedes and Red Bull. At the top are such smart people that you can always calculate that they can conjure something out of a cylinder. It can be seen that Red Bull and especially Mercedes are behind, but it is faced that Red Bull is too slow. That is not the case at all. I think they lag behind Ferrari by at most a tenth.
Why does Red Bull seem to be unable to balance the car?
In addition to reliability issues, Red Bull also seems to be struggling to set up the RB18. Over the weekend in Melbourne, Verstappen complained about the balance of the car. It does not calm Bleekemolen. Ferrari seems to have a better base at the moment than Red Bull. Of course, it also helps that the Ferrari engine is so strong, because then it’s just easier to adjust your car accordingly. This is something I’m a little worried about. You can see that Red Bull always has to trim a little and always peck a lot with this car, but it really only worked once, “the Dutchman refers to the race in Jeddah. “But if you just can’t drive around, it just stops.”
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