It was the defining image of this year’s F1 season. Two Red Bull cars - piloted by the in-form Mark Webber and German wunderkid Sebastien Vettel - crossing the finishing line at the Monaco Grand Prix with a trail of perplexed and exasperated drivers in their wake. It was the domination of the worlds most prestigious and glamorous racing circuit by the sport’s most formidable team, and was a victory that cemented the team’s ambitions.
There were always whispers on the F1 grapevine back in the pre-season that Adrien Newey and his team in Milton Keynes had crafted a car that would put Red Bull at the forefront of this year’s title contention, but it’s doubtful any of the teams were expecting the RB6’s pace to be as consistent and as dumbfounding as the last six races have proved.
Far out out in front
Webber and Vettel have stepped up to the podium three times each this season, and it could have been more, had they not been plagued by technical problems in Melbourne. This has amounted to156 points between them, splitting the pot with 78 each, and putting them at the top of the 2010 championship leader board.
That’s unsurprising seeing as though at every race (besides China), there has been a Red Bull car leading the pack when the red lights go out. This blistering pace in qualifying led to early season controversy over the RB6’s ride height system, but it was more a desperate attempt to try and justify why the other teams were falling behind by nearly a second on the hot laps.
Even Brawn’s aerodynamic advantage in the 2009 season (with its rear diffuser) only opened up a 0.4 sec gap between it and the Red Bull cars, and that was only in the first few races, after which other teams cottoned on. This year however, teams have made the upgrades to their machines, and they are still lagging far behind the Bulls.
Further bad news for the team’s rivals is that Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing’s team principal, has announced another upgrade package for the Turkish Grand Prix in a week’s time:
“We still don't have the blown rear wing or F-duct, so inevitably there is a research project that is going on into that," he told Autosport, "Istanbul could be a venue where that could be introduced”.
You can picture the race engineers at Ferrari and Mclaren chewing away at their already worn-down finger nails, and from what is being said in the press, some of the drivers are also. The 2008 World Champion - Lewis Hamilton - never one to back down from a challenge, has voiced the concerns of his fellow competitors after what was two -horse race in Monte Carlo:
“"They are still really far ahead," Hamilton told Reuters.”They have been so quick. They didn't even push in this race, they weren't even pushing. It's not scary, it just takes the mickey a little bit. It was a bit too easy for them.”
Missed Chances
As it stands, the championship title is still very much up for grabs. Despite the Red Bull’s flying start, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso trails by just three points, with Mclaren’s Jenson Button just five behind the Spaniard.
They should count themselves lucky though to be within even touching distance of Webber and Vettel. Until Spain and Monaco, the pair had struggled to convert position into points, with spark plug failures, braking problems and tyre issues all managing to halt their progress.
It’s clear that one of their biggest rivals is themselves. In 2009, their season was blighted by unreliability and if they carry on at the furious rate they have started the 2010 season, reliability might be the only thing that can stop them.
Of course the other drivers will do their best. Fernando Alonso’s dogged and determined race in Monaco showed that if he hadn’t crashed in practice he might have been a likely contender for one of the podium spots at least.
Jenson Button has also remained competitive for the first six rounds, but thanks to an overheated engine, was unable to finish last Sunday.
Mclaren have “some developments” in the pipeline, according to Hamilton, but there is nothing immediate.
The former World Champion does however feel that the Mclarens will fare better in the up and coming races:
“We're a lot more confident about what our pace will be like at tracks like Istanbul, Canada and Silverstone - we think our package will be a lot more competitive at those places, particularly in race pace, which has always been our strength.” he told Autosport.
Race pace has been good for Mclaren, Ferrari and Mercedes this year, but the qualifying pace is where Red Bull has led the charge. If the teams can buck this trend at Turkey in a week’s time (a track basically designed for Red Bull), then the championship’s destiny may slip from the grasp of Vettel and Webber.
If not then this season could be over by the time we leave Europe for the last few rounds of the race calendar. Only time will tell.
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