Ferrari gears up to challenge Red Bull's F1 dominance

Ferrari is gearing up for a significant challenge to Red Bull’s hold on Formula 1, with even Dr. Helmut Marko acknowledging that competitors are narrowing the gap.

In fact, Red Bull’s chief F1 advisor admits that McLaren driver Lando Norris outpaced triple world champion Max Verstappen in Miami purely on speed.

“We were just too slow,” Marko told Osterreich newspaper, contradicting his colleague Christian Horner’s assertion that Verstappen damaged his floor by hitting a bollard.

“Max didn’t think it was that serious,” the 81-year-old stresses. “The fact is that we were just slower than McLaren.”

Red Bull aims to retaliate this weekend at Imola with a car upgrade “that I expect a lot from,” Marko added.

“Even before Max hit the bollard, we were only just ahead of the Ferrari in terms of speed,” Marko also mentioned in an exclusive column at Speed Week. “We didn’t have the fastest car.”

Ferrari, still second in the championship standings ahead of McLaren, is also bringing a major car upgrade to Imola, featuring a sidepod design inspired by Red Bull’s development, according to Italian media.

The Maranello team is also planning for the future, announcing two key appointments from Mercedes – Toto Wolff’s former deputy Jerome d’Ambrosio, and performance engineer Loic Serra.

Both will commence their roles on 1 October, in preparation for Lewis Hamilton’s anticipated move from Mercedes to Ferrari for 2025 and beyond.

D’Ambrosio, a former F1 driver, will serve as deputy team boss under Frederic Vasseur.

Additionally, Italian media speculates that Adrian Newey will eventually return to Formula 1 as a new external “super advisor” to Ferrari, before getting more involved with the design of the 2026 car.

Sky Italia reports: “The official announcement is missing, but for Adrian Newey, all roads lead to Maranello.”

“He will have the role of super advisor, starting in April 2025, with the possibility of working on the 2026 car project,” the report added.

“He will possibly also get involved at the races, given that he will arrive shortly after the season has started.”

In a recent interview with La Repubblica newspaper, Vasseur was not ready to confirm the news.

“Newey is a reference,” he said, “but I believe more in the group.”

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