Red Bull caught its F1 rivals off-guard during pre-season testing, but Laurent Mekies is still trying to downplay expectations.
Laurent Mekies has stated that unfortunately Red Bull is not considered the benchmark heading into the F1 season. Additionally, he mentioned that the team has high confidence, but acknowledges they are currently behind Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren in terms of pace.
During pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, there was a lot of speculation and finger-pointing among the top teams, specifically Mercedes and Red Bull, as they vied for the title of the team to beat.
Despite Red Bull’s strong start in the initial test in Sakhir, as the testing days progressed, Mercedes and Ferrari seemed slightly ahead, with Red Bull and McLaren trailing behind.
Mekies emphasized the need to focus on their own performance rather than engaging in gamesmanship with other teams. He highlighted the amount of work ahead and the challenge of catching up to the leading teams.
While acknowledging that Red Bull’s new partnership with Ford has surprised their rivals, Mekies stressed the competitive fight ahead and the significant effort required to reach their desired level of performance.
