Red Bull told they will soon come under ‘pressure’ from five-win driver

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One driver has told F1 world champions Red Bull that ‘it’s only a matter of time’ before he piles them under pressure.

The Bulls have made a dominant start to the new F1 season with back-to-back one-two finishes.

However, they’ve been warned that it won’t all be plain sailing as one of their rivals closes in.

The Milton Keynes outfit haven’t been able to lock out the front row at either race so far.

Charles Leclerc has snatched second place in his Ferrari in both qualifying sessions.

But Sergio Perez has had the pace to claim relatively comfortable runner-up finishes in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Max Verstappen has won 19 of the 20 last Grands Prix overall and is one victory away from matching his own record of 10 straight.

The Dutchman is therefore the overwhelming favourite to land a fourth consecutive world title this season.

Charles Leclerc sends warning to Red Bull

Speaking in the post-race press conference on Saturday, Leclerc sounded a note of optimism despite a distant third-place finish.

He says Ferrari have made the biggest strides of Red Bull’s challengers since the latter part of the 2023 season.

And he’s confident that the Scuderia will soon make life difficult for Christian Horner’s team if they continue their current trajectory.

“I think we are doing small steps in the right direction,” he said. “If I look back the last six, seven months, we are the team that have improved the most and we are slowly closing the gap.

“So the gap is still quite big. But if we keep working like that, I’m sure it’s a matter of time before we put the Red Bull under a bit more pressure.”

Leclerc and Ferrari have victory goal

Ferrari weren’t at full strength in Saudi Arabia as Carlos Sainz missed qualifying and the race with appendicitis.

18-year-old junior driver Oliver Bearman stepped in and took a commendable seventh place.

Despite the disruption, the Prancing Horse sit in a comfortable second in the current standings.

They have amassed 49 points so far, 21 more than third-place McLaren and 38 behind leaders Red Bull.

Team principal Fred Vasseur expects the team to win multiple races this season after they managed just one victory last year, with Sainz triumphant at the Singapore Grand Prix.