Grosjean sees Mercedes back in title race: 'And Red Bull staying on top'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Romain Grosjean hopes to see a title fight between the three top teams next season. The former Formula 1 driver expects Red Bull Racing to still compete at the front despite the budget cap penalty, but Grosjean also thinks Mercedes and Ferrari will come back stronger in 2023.
The 2022 season was an exciting one because of the major rule changes. Next season, little will change, so many teams will try to close the gap to Red Bull. After Mercedes' lacklustre results, Grosjean expects the team to return stronger, but Ferrari cannot be ruled out either.
"I see Mercedes coming back into the title fight, while I see Red Bull staying on top even though they’ve got less wind tunnel than everyone else because of the position in the championship as well as the penalty for breaching the cost cap. I think Ferrari is going to have a strong car again, and I think Mercedes is going to be up there with them," Grosjean says in his new YouTube video.
'Red Bull still ahead in 2023'
Red Bull loses 10 per cent wind tunnel time in the coming months because of the penalty for exceeding the budget cap in 2021, but Max Verstappen's team could count on less aerodynamic testing time anyway because of its first place in the constructors' championship. Mercedes, on the other hand, will get more time because of their third place. Still, according to Grosjean, this will not change much, as the regulations remain almost the same.
"The rules for 2023 haven’t changed that much. The cars need to be raised a little bit more, the floor is going to be tighter, but the rules are staying pretty much the same, which makes me feel that Red Bull should still be at the front. Ferrari should still have a very good baseline, and Mercedes has learned a lot from 2022 and is going to be strong next year," Grosjean concludes.