Fred Vasseur "uncertain" whether Red Bull stands as F1's top team at the moment.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has declined to designate Red Bull as the top team in Formula 1 at present, despite Max Verstappen's victories in the last two grands prix from pole position.
The four-time world champion secured his first win of 2026 with a commanding display in Malaysia, before clinching both the Singapore sprint and grand prix just a week later.
This follows Red Bull's significant upgrade introduced in Baku during Verstappen’s current streak of five podium finishes, now placing them just seven points shy of third-placed McLaren with six races remaining.
However, Vasseur contends that this resurgence is characteristic of a season that began with the dominant Mercedes winning the first six rounds, followed by Ferrari and McLaren reducing the gap.
Both teams achieved two victories during the mid-season European segment until Red Bull finally reached the top step, indicating that the hierarchy has shifted due to varying upgrade strategies.
When asked by Motorsport.com if Red Bull is the “team to beat,” Vasseur responded: “Not sure.”
“Honestly, they are performing well, but they aren’t the team to beat. If you examine McLaren and Mercedes, from the start of the season, Mercedes was ahead, then we won two races, followed by McLaren winning two, and then Red Bull winning two or three.”
“I think it's changing, because quite frequently you have four teams competing closely; I think yesterday there were four teams within less than two races.”
“This means that if someone introduces upgrades next week, the standings could shift. But the most crucial aspect is to focus on ourselves, rather than concerning ourselves with others.”
Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari
Vasseur’s remarks followed Mercedes’ George Russell asserting that Red Bull is “the team to beat,” given that Verstappen’s victories occurred at two distinctly different circuits.
However, the Ferrari team principal, whose drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished second and sixth on Sunday, believes that much of Verstappen’s success in Singapore hinged on the start of the race.
It saw the Red Bull driver fend off Leclerc entering Turn 1, and with overtaking being particularly challenging at the narrow Marina Bay street circuit, Verstappen was able to dictate the race from that point onward.
Vasseur added: “It was evident for us even while we were lapping cars, that as soon as you were two or three seconds back, you encountered more difficulties.”
“It was clear throughout the laps that we were lapping someone. Certainly, you lose time when overtaking, but even beforehand, when you were two or three seconds behind, it was tough.”
“This indicates that the position in Turn 1 was crucial.”
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