Red Bull Racing recorded the highest top speed during the last test days at the Bahrain International Circuit. This means that the Austrian racing stable retains its advantage on the straights, but this advantage has shrunk compared to Ferrari. However, the lead on the Mercedes team remains very large. However, the Silver Arrows have hoped for an upgrade that will be put on the car during the first Grand Prix weekend.
Last season Red Bull was clearly the fastest of the top teams on the straights. This gave Max Verstappen a big advantage over Charles Leclerc, who could no longer really be regarded as a title competitor after the summer break. Red Bull still has this advantage, as the RB19, with a speed of 326.9 kilometers per hour, was the fastest in a straight line according to the calculations of Auto, Motor und Sport. However, Ferrari does not give in too much to Red Bull with a top speed of 326.6 kilometers per hour.
With this, Ferrari seems to have closed an important gap. Last season, the F1-75 was mainly known for its stability in the corners, but lost a lot of ground on the straights compared to Red Bull. The Italian racing stable tried to take a step with an upgrade during the season. Ferrari focused on the floor and started running with smaller wings, but the downforce generated by the floor was not efficient enough, which only increased the gap to Red Bull.
Mercedes pins hopes for upgrade
For Mercedes, there is still work to be done when it comes to straight-line speed. The German racing team recorded a top speed of 321.1 kilometers per hour, making it more than five kilometers per hour behind Red bull. However, Mercedes can hope for an upgrade it will bring for next weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. “A new rear wing is coming,” says Auto, Motor und Sport. “The engineers admitted that during the test days they drove with a wing that still generated too much drag.”
