F1 News
'I'm surprised Red Bull and Ferrari could find extra performance'
- GPblog.com
McLaren technical director James Key is amazed at the lead Red Bull Racing and Ferrari have grabbed in building their F1 cars. According to the Briton, it shows that despite the budget ceiling, the big teams are still ahead.
Red Bull and Max Verstappen are well on their way to winning both championships in 2022. For a long time, Ferrari still seemed to be able to keep up with the Austrian team, but strategic lapses and mistakes during pit stops make the chances of a world title in Italy seem very slim. Still, the Ferrari F1-75 is one of the fastest cars of the season.
Red Bull and Ferrari take the lead
"I suppose I am a little surprised at how two teams have been able to find that extra bit of performance compared to everyone else," Key said in an interview on the McLaren website. According to Key, the F1 field is now starting to stretch a bit and it is mainly Ferrari and Red Bull that are distancing themselves from the rest. "I have to say, Ferrari and Red Bull have done an excellent job of exploiting more," he said.
"It shows that even within a cost cap, if you're a big team with an extensive infrastructure and a lot of knowledge and methodology built over many years, it still very much counts," Key said. The Briton therefore takes Ferrari and Red Bull as reference points for the coming years in which McLaren hopes to take another step towards the top.