Shanghai, China - On-board footage of Max Verstappen's stunning
opening lap at the Chinese Grand Prix has gone viral over the past
days but the young Red Bull driver is well aware that he and his team
remain far from the top early in the Formula One season.
Verstappen sensationally passed nine cars in that first lap in
Shanghai on Sunday as he roared from 16th to seventh en route to
finishing on the podium in third.
Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo followed in fourth which sounded
like a solid result but was swiftly put into perspective by
Verstappen, given the dominance of Mercedes race winner Lewis
Hamilton and second-place finisher Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari.
"I think at the moment we're a bit in a lonely competition because in
front of us they are too quick and behind us they are too slow," Verstappen said. "We are working really hard and trying to close the gap but it's not
that easy. But we'll keep pushing hard."
Red Bull ruled the sport from 2010 to 2013 with four straight Drivers' world
titles from Vettel and four Constructors' crowns from the team backed
by the Austrian energy drinks giant Red Bull.
But Mercedes then took control after rule changes in 2014, and appear
to have kept the momentum despite another set of new regulations this
time around, with Ferrari however also strong and Vettel winning the
season-opener in Australia.
"On true pace, both Ferrari and Mercedes should be ahead with both of
their drivers so we still need to work very hard to catch up,"
Verstappen said.
Wider and faster
Things are unlikely to change on Sunday at the Bahrain GP, where
Vettel won for Red Bull in 2012 and 2013 but it has not been on
the podium since.
Red Bull had hoped to rein in Mercedes through the changes, just as its dominance was broken three years ago - with team
adviser Helmut Marko on the forefront of those in favour of the new
rules which made the cars wider and faster.
Marko suggested at the time of the talks that only Mercedes
motorsport chief Toto Wolff "has this paranoia that Mercedes must
give up its dominance if little things are changed at the engine and
chassis."
Fellow Austrian Wolff had argued against the new rules by saying "the
field will become closer the longer you stick to" the established
rules as all teams were improving.
Closing the gap
But now Hamilton and Vettel are joint leaders in the Drivers' list
with 43 points each ahead of Verstappen who has 25. Mercedes tops the
Constructors' standings with 66 points, one ahead of Ferrari while
third-placed Red Bull trails with 37.
Red Bull must now hope that updates to the RB13 car and the work of
technical wizard Adrian Newey will help it close the gap rather
quickly.
After all, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz made it clear on the
weekend the team
wants to "fight for the world title again this season and next year".
Naming Verstappen "a real breath of fresh air for everyone," Hamilton
at least would welcome such a scenario in what he expects to be a
thrilling season.
"I hope that Red Bull can improve through the season because a third element in the fight would be even more exciting," he
said.