Red Bull Can Only Be Caught If Other Team Makes 'Radical Steps' Says Berger

Wednesday, 31 January 2024 at 13:00

Former F1 driver Gerhard Berger asserted it won't be possible for other teams to catch up with Red Bull without radical changes.

Red Bull Racing finished both the 2022 and 2023 seasons with a pace advantage over their closest rivals - Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin.

Having the pace advantage means other teams have to make bigger steps forward in development than the team from Milton Keynes in order to even catch up.

Former F1 driver and a ten-time Grand Prix winner believes these teams that want to close the gap to Red Bull have to take risks and make radical steps. He told Auto Motor und Sport:

"If Red Bull keeps its team together like this, it will be difficult to catch up with them. It can only work if the others take radical steps."

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It seems Mercedes and Ferrari are aware, as both teams promised significant changes ahead of the season 2024. Mercedes said they would change every single part of the car.

The Ferrari team principal asserted his team would change about 95% of the car. On the other hand, it is enough for Red Bull to focus on evolution rather than revolution.

"Whoever wins everything, like Red Bull now, will not make any radical changes. You have a good foundation, and you keep building on it. You benefit from this for quite a while."

Making radical steps is quite risky, but neither Scuderia nor Silver Arrows care about achieving any other place in the Championship except the first. Berger approves what these teams are doing and believes it is the right way to turn the tide. He added:

"But then the moment comes when the second or third person takes this radical step because they have to make a big leap to move forward again. If he succeeds, the tide will turn"