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Charles Leclerc has expressed concern Red Bull may be uncatchable during the current regulatory era in F1.
Since the introduction of new aerodynamic rules at the start of last season, Red Bull has won 29 of 34 grands prix, including the last 13 in succession to set a new Formula 1 constructors’ record.
Two-time champion Max Verstappen goes into his home Dutch Grand Prix this weekend poised to equal the drivers’ record of nine wins in a row achieved by former Red Bull star Sebastian Vettel.
Although gains have been made at various stages this season by all of Red Bull’s rivals in Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin and McLaren, the RB19 is unmatched in terms of its ability as a car for all circuits and conditions.
With the current rules in place for the next two and a half years, Leclerc is sceptical Red Bull can be overhauled.
“It’s what we are trying to work towards but they have a really big margin,” said Leclerc. “It’s going to be very, very difficult to catch them before the change of regulations.”
The major concern for Leclerc is the pace advantage of the current Red Bull on race day, with Verstappen’s margin in the majority of his victories this year not witnessed at such a consistent level for quite some time.
Explaining Red Bull’s dominance now as “different than in the past”, he remarked that “in qualifying we are all much closer than what we have seen in the past”.
He added: “Normally, when we saw a team dominating, it was qualifying and the race.
“But now, for some reason with Red Bull, it’s much more in the race than in qualifying. The gaps are much bigger in the race than in qualifying and that’s why we are all working towards our race pace because Red Bull is just so far ahead.”
Ferrari has made strides of its own over the course of the campaign and is continuing to work on closing the gap further.
Leclerc feels the nature of the current cars means major gains can be found, as discovered by Aston Martin and McLaren.
“There’s still a lot of work to do,” said Leclerc. “We have some developments in the next few races that can help us make a step forward.
“But also with this car, we can have some unexpected surprises because they are such sensitive cars that a small change can have a big influence. Hopefully, it will be the case for us.”
