Red Bull is hitting the limit with the car, says Pierre Wache

Red Bull's technical director Pierre Wache suggested that the Milton Keynes-based team has lost its sizeable competitive advantage because rival teams had more room for improvement.

Red Bull has dominated Formula One since the beginning of the new, ground-effect era that took effect at the start of the 2022 season. However, while the opening two seasons of the new era saw Red Bull dominate proceedings, this year has been much harder for the Milton Keynes-based squad with Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes all having posed a serious threat for them.

Despite the sterner competition, reigning world champion Max Verstappen dominantly leads the drivers' standings from Lando Norris with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc further behind in third place.

However, recent races saw McLaren and Mercedes close in on Red Bull while Ferrari has slightly fallen behind due to its own development struggles.

Asked by the De Telegraaf newspaper, Red Bull's technical director Pierre Wache said that McLaren's and Mercedes' development push has caught his eye. "It seems that the development of McLaren in particular, and Mercedes in certain areas, has been successful.

"McLaren took a gigantic step forward since the beginning of May, in Miami," he added. "It’s true that the others have come closer and that we have to come up with updates that can ensure we regain the lead we had."

Red Bull brought a new floor to last weekend's Silverstone, but only Verstappen received the upgraded part while Sergio Perez's car is set to be equipped with the upgrade at next weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

"It is very important that we see that the new update gives us laptime, because it also has an influence on our plans for the future.

"It’s very simple - in previous weeks, we have not always been dominant. But there is no point in pressing the panic button just yet."

While Red Bull has come up with a new concept for its RB20 for this year, rival teams seem to have had bigger scoop for improvement. Wache insists that stable regulations have led to convergence between the teams.

"The regulations have been the same for a few years now and there are many restrictions, so we are doing a lot of work for only small margins.

"But I do think we can continue to develop this car and that we can still find a lot of performance in the coming period," concluded the Frenchman.