The Miami Grand Prix showed that Red Bull is “no longer in its comfort zone”
The head of the Ferrari team, Fred Vasseur, declares that McLaren's victory at the Miami Grand Prix is the latest sign that Red Bull is no longer "in the comfort zone" of 2023.

Last year, Red Bull won all the Grand Prix of the season except one, at the beginning of this year, there was little to suggest that the team could be prevented from repeating their domination.
But even if they still have the fastest car in Formula 1, Red Bull first encountered reliability issues in Australia and they were once again beaten in Miami by Lando Norris, whose race pace in the improved McLaren was described as insane by Verstappen.
While Vasseur warned that Red Bull is still in the lead, he says that the shrinking gap means that Ferrari and McLaren will be able to put more and more pressure on the team based in Milton Keynes, which can no longer be content with winning races without opposition.
« Honestly, Red Bull is still in the lead. Max probably could have won today without the safety car incident. They got pole position, which means they still have a slight advantage. What’s true is that a year ago, when we are able to do our job well and put everything in place, we are there. This means we are putting a bit of pressure on them, they have to be a bit more aggressive with the strategy, he told Autosport.
They are no longer in last year’s comfort zone where no matter what happens, they were ahead after the second round. The slightest drop in pace has more significant implications for the race strategy because with two equally performing cars, Ferrari and McLaren can start to ask serious questions to Verstappen, especially during races where Sergio Perez is struggling and cannot strategically cover Verstappen.
« I think it’s a game changer in race management, Vasseur continues. « It’s an opportunity for us because if we take another small step, I think we will really be able to compete with them every weekend.
Ferrari is preparing its first major set of upgrades for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola next week. The Scuderia also went this week to its Fiorano test track to give its new parts a first test during a 200 km filming day.