Helmut Marko laid down a challenge for 2022, saying that he predicts Red Bull and Mercedes will share the front row again next season.
Teams are scrambling to make competitive cars that will be in accordance with the new regulations of 2022. The cars of 2021 will be remodelled and altered to become both fast and legal in the new setting.
It will be completely different machinery for the drivers to race with. The wildcard of the new regulations means that it is a completely clean slate, and any team could end up stumbling upon the perfect setup to win the season.
Mercedes and Red Bull were the frontrunners in 2021, and while they are the favourites for the upcoming season as well, it will not be a guaranteed scenario. Anything from either team absolutely dominating to bottoming out completely could happen.
Nevertheless, Marko laid down a challenge for 2022 to Mercedes, and said that Red Bull’s car was being developed with theirs as the benchmark.
“Max (Verstappen) drove in the simulator in between (races),” the team advisor told Servus TV, as quoted by Planet F1.
“He can drive a car that is relatively unstable in the rear, for him the car has to be as fast as possible, it doesn’t have to be comfortable.
“At the moment, we believe that we are almost on a par with Mercedes. The engine will also change a lot (with synthetic fuel being introduced). That is a drastic change.
“We believe that we are both in front again unless someone manages a golden shot like with the double diffuser.”
We go again
Red Bull and Mercedes shared a championship each, with the former having the Drivers’ Champion in their ranks while the latter took the Constructors’ Championship.
The two teams were quite evenly matched last season, with the battle for both titles going down to the final race of 2021.
Read more: Marko believes Russell entry at Mercedes will play into Red Bull’s hands next season