Red Bull downplays pre-season pace: 'We are not the benchmark'

Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache believes Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren are all quicker than his team based on the running so far in Formula 1 pre-season testing.

Multiple teams have highlighted how strong Red Bull’s performance has appeared so far given that it is running its own power unit for the first time, with Mercedes naming Laurent Mekies’ team as the benchmark. Wache disputes that assessment, saying both Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar have clear areas they are struggling with compared to rivals, and specifically pointed out Ferrari’s potential.

“We are not the benchmark, for sure,” Wache said. “We see clearly the top three teams, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren are in front of us, it looks like from our analysis, and we are behind. But there where we think we are I find it very difficult to say about those because the run plan of everybody, the level of fuel they run, the level of power they run is difficult to say, but it's currently our analysis and it could be wrong. We don't spend too much time on that. We try to focus on how to improve our own.

“I think clearly in low speed traction [Ferrari] are very strong. Some straight line speeds are also interesting from the Ferrari and the Mercedes – especially on low fuel. The problem is, the assessment of the performance until we are on exactly the same fuel level in qualifying in Melbourne is difficult.

“We clearly see some weakness in our car and we relate it to the weakness and feedback we have from Max and Isack on the car based on where we lose our time to the others on this track. That is why I said clearly traction, low speed, medium speed cornering, that was not our strength already last year. They are stronger than us.”

Where Wache agrees with the other teams is in his own pleasant surprise at how strong the Red Bull Ford power unit is, although he believes any performance gaps closed up quickly during the first week of testing in Bahrain.

“I'm surprised that the engine people did a fantastic job in being able to put a car together and run so many miles," he said. "I wouldn't say we are the benchmark, because I think everybody in this room knows that it's a game that everybody is playing, but we have to recognize also the fantastic job that the engine people have done. And to be able, as a start-up – because it is a start-up, three years and a half [since starting as an engine manufacturer] – to be able to not look stupid on the track is a massive achievement.

“It's true that during the first day especially we were a little bit closer to what we should have and you start to see the tendency of the others going in the same direction, and now I would say they are a little bit better than us.

“I think maybe our factory people and the simulation people in our factory find quicker the optimal way, and the others are taking a bit more time to achieve that.”