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Red Bull special advisor Helmut Marko has claimed that the Milton Keynes outfit is working “tirelessly” to help Max Verstappen defend his world title. They are working on developing a quicker car after sweeping regulation changes.
Speaking of the team’s prospects ahead of the upcoming season during an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Marko said:
"It works around the clock. The goal is the world title (again), but with such a big rule change, you can never be sure. Mercedes and we (Red Bull) have the potential, the people, and the continuity. That speaks again for a duel at the highest level. Especially since there is no other driver (that can compete) with Hamilton and Verstappen."
Marko says the team can never be sure of where they are compared to rivals Mercedes. He added that they are focussing on extracting the most out of the regulations.
Meanwhile, along with sweeping changes to aero philosophy, the 2022 cars will also have important changes in the engine department. it will have a new eco-friendly biofuel that will be introduced in an effort to reduce the sport’s carbon footprint.
According to Marko, Red Bull expects a power loss of more than 20 bhp from the new fuel. He said the team is working with engine partner Honda to recover the loss.
"Honda is working massively on the adaptation. What I hear is positive. But the performance is not yet the same as in 2021. You will generally have to wait to see how it looks in racing trim."
Honda have officially departed F1 as an engine supplier, handing over the intellectual property rights of their engine to Red Bull. However, the Japanese manufacturer will continue to partner with Red Bull for the foreseeable future. Honda head of F1 operations Masashi Yamamoto has been linked with a move to Red Bull powertrains.
Max Verstappen may have to face more challengers in 2022 to defend his title
The sweeping regulation changes for 2022 are a prime opportunity for teams in the upper midfield to finally take the fight to the top teams.
Teams that could potentially make life harder for Red Bull and Mercedes include Ferrari and McLaren, with an outside chance for Alpine and Aston Martin. Each of these four teams have capable driver line-ups that can make the most out of a good car to mount a title offense.
Red Bull and Mercedes are already wary of a threat from Ferrari, especially after the Scuderia brought a significant upgrade to its power unit during the final part of the 2021 campaign.
Meanwhile, McLaren have been slowly building up their infrastructure over the last few years, while attracting fresh talent. With their strong driver lineup of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris, they are also in a good position to mount a title challenge in the coming season.
Red Bull have been hard at work to give Max Verstappen the best possible chance of defending his world championship. However, with the new rules set to be implemented in 2022, they might have more to worry about than just beating Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes this year.
