F1 News: Ferrari Insider Exposes Red Bull's Sacrifice For Race Day Dominance
Ferrari driver coach Jock Clear has commended Red Bull's clever strategy as they sacrifice qualifying pace to excel in race performance. While Red Bull has secured four out of the five pole positions in the 2023 season, the gap to their competitors during qualifying has not always been significant. However, when race day arrives, the RB19 emerges as a dominant force, with five victories and four one-two finishes already this season, leaving Mercedes and Ferrari perplexed as they strive to understand Red Bull's extraordinary DRS performance.
Speaking to Autosport, Jock Clear acknowledged Red Bull's impressive race pace, stating
"We have to take our hat off to Red Bull and say they are doing something very, very clever.
"That car works very, very well in race pace. We might also conclude that to do so, maybe they are giving up some qualifying pace. That's why we can compete with them because they're not optimal in qualifying."
Clear hinted at Red Bull's utilisation of the Drag Reduction System as a factor contributing to their substantial speed advantage over Ferrari and other frontrunners. He noted:
"They are very, very quick along the straights, especially when the DRS is open.
"Again, we have to look at that, see what we can do better to shed that drag because that's free lap time."
The dominance displayed by Red Bull on race day has forced their rivals to reevaluate their own strategies. The challenge lies in finding the right balance between a qualifying performance and a race pace setup.
Ferrari, along with Mercedes and other teams, are now working diligently to unravel the secrets behind Red Bull's DRS advantage and devise countermeasures to level the playing field. The Brackley team have gone as far as to completely swap their concept in a bid to close the gap to Red Bull.