Vasseur questions Red Bull as F1’s team to beat

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has questioned whether Red Bull have become Formula 1’s team to beat, arguing that McLaren and Mercedes also belong in the conversation. “I’m not sure, honestly,” he said, while acknowledging that Red Bull were performing very well.

Max Verstappen has won Red Bull’s past two Grands Prix, at Sepang and Singapore. George Russell has described Red Bull as the team with the target on its back. Vasseur pointed to the changing form of the leading teams this season: Mercedes were flying at the start, Ferrari and McLaren then each won two races, and Red Bull had two or three victories, including the Singapore sprint.

At Marina Bay, Vasseur said, the four leading teams were separated by less than two tenths of a second in qualifying. The order could change if a team brought an upgrade the following week, he added. Ferrari’s priority, he said, was to focus on its own work rather than its rivals.