Is Red Bull Racing the benchmark? Here’s what championship leader Kimi Antonelli has to say

Red Bull Racing’s rivals know full well that Max Verstappen is not to be written off. The Dutchman has now demonstrated on several occasions his ability to close the gap in the World Championship battle. And things are going splendidly for the four-time champion once again: in the last two races in Malaysia and Singapore, he scored the maximum number of points. With 58 World Championship points, he was the most successful driver during this period.

By way of comparison: championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished second at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was held at the Sepang circuit; in Singapore, he had to settle for fourth place in the Sprint and third place in Sunday’s race. With 38 points, he scored 20 points fewer than the 73-time Grand Prix winner in the Red Bull Racing car. However, Antonelli is certain that this was not solely down to his opponent’s pace.

When asked whether Red Bull Racing is now the team to beat, or whether the recent results are partly down to his inability to fully exploit the potential of Mercedes’ latest upgrade, the curly-haired driver explained: “Yes, I think that’s largely because we can’t squeeze the maximum out of our new package.”

Kimi Antonelli: Praise for Red Bull Racing

“Of course, Red Bull Racing has made incredible progress, and Max probably feels much more comfortable in the car and can therefore get more out of it,” admitted the 20-year-old. “So it’s a combination of factors that’s leading to this. They’ve certainly taken a good step forward. But as far as we’re concerned, as I said, we simply have to try and understand how we can utilise more of the car’s potential. I can see the benefits that the new upgrade brings, but the car’s operating window is just so narrow that it’s very sensitive when it comes to driving style – how you turn into a corner and how you apply the brakes.”

“It reacts quite differently, and I hope we can try out a few more things in Austin, because we’ll have three free practice sessions there again, allowing us to approach the set-up with an open mind. I hope we can make the most of the potential. The team already did a brilliant job in Singapore, improving the car so that I could gain more confidence. It’s a good starting point for our efforts to make better use of the potential,” added the eight-time Grand Prix winner.

Topic of the week

Topic of the week: MotoGP’s new schedule proved highly controversial

In 2027, MotoGP will also enter the 850cc era with a new schedule. It was not so much the changes themselves as the way the decisions were reached that caused a stir. A prime example of: ‘Talking helps’.

Thomas Kuttruf

Read More

TV Program

Live

Austin: 1. Freies Training

FIA Formula One World Championship

23.10.2026 - 19:25