Ferrari: DRS push has wiped out Red Bull’s top speed F1 advantage
Ferrari has faith it has wiped away Red Bull’s DRS advantage to make the top speed differences between their Formula 1 cars ‘negligible’.


The two championship contenders began the 2022 F1 season with very different car characteristics, even though on lap time there was little to separate them.
The Ferrari was better in slow and medium speed corners, while Red Bull held a clear advantage on the straights and flat-out turns.
But, as the campaign has developed, and the two teams have tweaked their cars to counter their main rival, their performance dynamics have converged - with Ferrari as quick as Red Bull on the straights in Austria last weekend.
Ferrari believes that a new low-drag wing that was first used by Charles Leclerc at the Canadian Grand Prix has delivered a decisive step in wiping away the top speed advantage of Red Bull – especially when the DRS was open.
Asked by Autosport if the balance of performance between the two teams had changed now, Mattia Binotto said: “We had a disadvantage compared to the Red Bull, no doubt, in terms of straight line speed - especially in DRS zones.
“In terms of power of their DRS, compared to ours, we worked a lot on it. So the new rear wing that we introduced first with Charles in Canada, we have had it on both cars since UK.
“And with that new rear wing, I think we have simply reduced the gap we had in terms of speed. I think they still have got a slight advantage, but it’s very little or negligible.”

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
The shift to a lower drag wing, rather than just shedding downforce, has allowed Ferrari to not sacrifice the strength it has had many times this year with tyre degradation.
Binotto reckons that in terms of traction, there is nothing separating the Ferrari and Red Bull. However, he thinks Leclerc and Sainz are better able to exploit a grip advantage their car appears to have.
“In the power limited [corners], we are very close,” he said. “Then it's only about the grip limited corners where we can make the difference.
“I think [in Austria] we have been fast, not only because of the car, but because I think the two drivers made a fantastic weekend in terms of car balance, car setup, understanding the tyres, managing the tyres and driving on track.”
Ferrari’s new low drag rear wing is aimed at performing best on medium downforce tracks, with the team realising that Red Bull’s package had previously given it an important edge.
Speaking recently about the wing, Claudio Albertini, Ferrari race operations manager, said: “It is for the average level of downforce, similar to what we used for example in Miami or Australia, that kind of track.
“So [we are] keeping that level of downforce, and we'll work on the efficiencies to have a more efficient wing rear wing.”
Asked if reducing drag was something the team had targeted by itself, or was a response to Red Bull’s advantage, Albertini said: “With developments, sometimes you realise [things] when you are racing. You can see how you compare to other teams and where you can improve.
“We could see that, for example in top speed, it was an area which there was some room to improve and we improved the efficiency for this reason.”
Related video

The anticipated culture change at the top of motorsport that is yet to arrive
Alonso feels back at his best level in F1 2022

Latest news
De Vries cleared of wrongdoing in dispute over €250K loan
Nyck de Vries has been cleared of any wrongdoing in an Amsterdam court over a claim launched against him by real estate magnate Jeroen Schothorst relating to a €250,000 loan.
Horner admits Red Bull’s real RB19 will be ‘somewhat different’
Red Bull boss Christian Horner says the real RB19 that will appear in Formula 1 testing in Bahrain later this month will be ‘somewhat different'.
Horner hints at closer links between Mercedes and Williams F1 teams
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has hinted that there could be a closer relationship between the Mercedes and Williams Formula 1 teams in the wake of James Vowles’s move.
Ford remains committed to WRC amid F1 return
Ford has stated that it remains committed to its programme in the World Rally Championship following confirmation of its return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier from 2026.
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing
The potential-laden F1 car that Ferrari neglected
The late Mauro Forghieri played a key role in Ferrari’s mid-1960s turnaround, says STUART CODLING, and his pretty, intricate 1512 was among the most evocative cars of the 1.5-litre era. But a victim of priorities as Formula 1 was deemed less lucrative than success in sportscars, its true potential was never seen in period
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.