F1 rivals threat has 'drawn reaction' from Red Bull

Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan has detailed the improved pace from rival teams has triggered a "reaction" from the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Despite a dominant start to the season, Red Bull has seen its performance advantage disappear, with McLaren now posing a threat in the championship fight.

Mercedes has also returned to winning ways and has claimed victory at three of the last four races. 

In total, Red Bull has been beaten seven times this season, surprising many who believed the Austrian outfit would go this season with the same level of dominance as it had in 2023. 

Monaghan has been slightly surprised by how quickly Red Bull has been caught this season, and speaking in a joint interview involving RacingNews365, said: "I do remember seeing some comments to say that we won't be caught in 2024 or 2025. It wasn't quite true, was it?

"So did it come slightly quicker? I think that's a personal view. Some people may say, 'Oh, this should have taken longer'. 

"Personally, I was a little surprised at how quickly they were on us. But equally, it's not something we can influence. I can't change the speed of our nearest competitors, we can only change the speed of our car. 

"It does draw a reaction from us as you may have seen, we are changing the car. And we're prepared to do it as early as we can, as we have to."

Would more testing help Red Bull?

A disadvantage Red Bull has compared to McLaren and Mercedes is less aerodynamic testing time due to the sport's sliding scale. 

Teams receive aerodynamic testing time based on their finishing position in the constructors' standings - as Red Bull won the title last season, they received the least time in the wind tunnel for this year. 

Having more testing time is seen as an advantage by Monaghan, although he points out that having longer to conduct research does not always trigger an improvement in performance. 

"I think that helps the others a little bit," added Monaghan. "They get a little bit more testing and they find things, maybe that helps them.

"I think the only way we could really do that would be to give ourselves some more aerodynamic testing time and take it off the others, and see how the relative pace of the cars evolve.

"It's a benefit to have more, it's whether you find more with it and then you realise its the car is the next stage in the puzzle, isn't it? 

"Having the research doesn't mean you're going to make your car faster, it gives you the opportunity to make it faster. So over the coming 10 races, we'll see."