According to Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso, Red Bull is in a league of its own.
The Spaniard has been the most regular challenger to the Red Bull juggernaut this season and arguably should have won the Monaco Grand Prix.
He was second that weekend, backing that up with another second place at the Canadian Grand Prix.
There, he crossed the line just 9.6 seconds behind Max Verstappen despite battling with Fernando Alonso through the opening third of the race.
It was an encouraging performance, which on the surface suggested the gap between Red Bull and the chasing pack was closing.
Aston Martin debuted a new package that weekend with a revised airbox and floor, which appeared to take the team a step forward.
There was a mild change for Mercedes, following a more sizeable package introduced in Monaco, which has seen the Brackley operation enjoy stronger results.
However, Alonso remains cautious about reading too much into the Canadian result and suggests Red Bull is still out on its own.
“I think we need to wait for different layouts, different circuits, because in Barcelona just two weeks before Canada we were 55 seconds or one minute behind the leader,” he said.
“So I think it was track specific, it was a very, very good weekend for us, but I hope we can close that gap.”
In Canada, Verstappen’s pace was managed after he struck a bird early on.
With the animal stuck in his brake duct, the Dutchman lost performance and had to nurse his car to the flag – the 9.6s margin therefore smaller than it might have been under normal circumstances.
Alonso’s pessimism about the meaning of his Canadian performance has, at least thus far in Austria, run true.
Verstappen enjoyed a comfortable advantage in both Qualifying and the Sprint Shootout to take pole, his cause aided by an ability to save tyres early in the weekend to maximise his single-lap performance.
That was further underscored by Red Bull finishing first and second in the F1 Sprint on Saturday afternoon, Verstappen 21 seconds clear of his team-mate in a 24-lap Sprint with only Carlos Sainz in touching distance.
As a result, Alonso is looking more at Ferrari and Mercedes, teams with whom Aston Martin is a direct rival, more than the immediate challenge he can muster to Red Bull.
“Red Bull is in their own league at the moment this year,” he reasoned.
“For us, it is important to score points with both cars in every weekend and try to keep up the fight with Mercedes and Ferrari, which obviously is still you know hard to believe for us that we are in this battle.
“When we start the season in Bahrain we were definitely not expecting to be up there and now we are just enjoying every weekend and it’s good to be in this battle.”
Alonso finished the F1 Sprint fifth, one spot back from Lance Stroll in the other Aston Martin for a total of nine world championship points.
Ferrari meanwhile only picked up six points for Carlos Sainz finishing third, while Mercedes got just one thanks to George Russell climbing to eighth.
Aston Martin remains third in the constructors’ championship, five points down on Mercedes, which now has a tally of 168 points – the same number as its deficit to Red Bull.
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