Leclerc: Red Bull might be unbeatable until 2026

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands — Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc doubts any Formula One team will be able to catch Red Bull before the next major regulation in 2026.

Leclerc was Max Verstappen’s closest rival last year when F1 introduced the current set of regulations aimed at improving overtaking.

But by the midpoint of the 2022 season, Red Bull started to dominate at every race weekend and have since won 21 of the last 22 grands prix, including all 12 this year.

Leclerc, who has slipped to fifth in the drivers’ standings this year amid Ferrari’s continuing struggles, believes Red Bull could be untouchable for another two seasons.

“For sure they have a really big margin and it’s going to be very difficult to catch them before the change of regulations,” he said on Thursday.

Lewis Hamilton, who secured six titles during Mercedes’ domination of the sport under the last two sets of regulations, also believes Red Bull is well placed to continue its domination.

“The fact is they are ahead, and most likely have been developing next year’s car already a month before everybody else as they’re 100, 200 points ahead in the championship,” he said.

“So it’s very very possible that Charles could be right, but we’re working on the steep gradient trying to develop, and get ourselves to close the gap. Whether or not we can next year will be proof within that, I hope we can.”

However, Leclerc does not think Red Bull’s domination is as extreme as Mercedes’ success between 2014 and 2020, and says Ferrari is targeting upgrades to close the gap in race performance.

“I think it’s different than in the past,” Leclerc added. “In qualifying we’re much closer than what we’ve seen in the past.

“Normally when we see a team dominating it was qualifying and the race, now for some reason with Red Bull, it’s much more in the race than in qualifying.

“The gaps are much bigger in the race than in qualifying. That’s why we’re all working on our race pace because Red Bull is so far ahead. There is still a lot of work to do.

“We have some developments in the next few races that can help us do a step forward but also with this car we can have some unexpected surprise because they are so sensitive cars that a small change can have a big influence. And hopefully it will be the case for us.”

If Verstappen wins this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix he will match Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive F1 victories, but Hamilton believes his former title rival could stretch that record to 18 by the end of the year.

“There is a high chance that he’ll win every race. But, we’re hopeful that we can challenge them at some point, whether it’s this weekend or who knows where. And if there are any mistakes, any mishaps, we’ll be right there to try and capitalize on them.

“They don’t really make them, or he hasn’t made any, and the team hasn’t made any this year I think anyway. So yeah. They might win everything. Hopefully later on in the year, we’ll get closer maybe. Not much really more to say.”

Source: www.espn.com