Formula 1: Have Red Bull Racing ascended to Mercedes’ level?

Coming off of two victories in three races and strong practice sessions leading up to the Hungarian Grand Prix, have Red Bull Racing ascended to Mercedes’ level atop Formula 1?

Not too long ago, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport had a stranglehold on Formula 1. They had won each of the first eight races of the 2019 season after winning the final two races of the 2018 season, putting them in a position to tie the all-time consecutive wins record with a victory in the 21-race 2019 season’s ninth race, the Austrian Grand Prix, at the Red Bull Ring.

But throughout the extremely hot race weekend leading up to the 71-lap race around the 10-turn, 2.683-mile (4.318-kilometer) Red Bull Ring road course in Spielberg, Styria, Austria and the race itself, the Brackley-based team simply could not keep up with Scuderia Ferrari and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing.

With under three laps remaining in the race, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen completed a rally that started with him losing second place and falling to seventh when the race began. He fell more than 15 seconds behind polesitter and race leader Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, but he passed him on lap 69 before securing the sixth victory of his career.

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Two races later, he found himself taking the checkered flag once again in the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton dominated this race early from the pole position, but in the changing conditions, Verstappen was untouchable once he took the lead after Hamilton was involved in the first of his several incidents throughout the event.

Verstappen lost double-digit-second leads on multiple occasions once he got out front due to the numerous safety car periods that this rain-shortened 64-lap race around the 16-turn, 2.842-mile (4.574-kilometer) Hockenheimring road course in Am Motodrom, Hockenheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany featured.

Yet even after he lost these leads and even after he spun out before the halfway point of the race, the 21-year-old Dutchman was in a class of his own, winning the race by 7.333 seconds over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in second place.

It is hard to judge a team’s true performance, especially relative to five-time reigning constructor and driver champions Mercedes, based on a race that featured excessive temperatures and a race that featured a crazy mix of wet and dry conditions in addition to a disastrous set of circumstances for Mercedes.

Mercedes have been dominant since the V6 turbo hybrid era began in 2014, so a couple of lackluster performances don’t necessarily mean that they are losing their place atop Formula 1. There is a reason — well, many reasons — why they have won 83 of the last 111 races.

But in Red Bull Racing’s case, they seem to be well on their way to the top to challenge the Silver Arrows.

The Milton Keynes-based team cut ties with Renault as their engine manufacturer following a 12-year partnership that lasted until the end of last season, and they did so to switch to Honda, which had recently experienced a failed stint in Formula 1 with McLaren.

The major goals of this switch was for Red Bull Racing to be supplied with more power and more reliability. They had lacked power in recent years despite having what was considered the best chassis, and prior to their switch to Honda, engine-related retirements had become a major issue for Red Bull Racing in recent seasons.

Through the first 11 races of the season, the team have never had a driver forced to retire with an engine issue. In fact, Verstappen has finished every race in the top five, and he is the only driver who has done so.

Red Bull Racing are still in third place in the constructor standings behind both Mercedes and Ferrari, which is where they were in the 2017 and 2018 seasons when their engines issues were most prevalent, but much of this has to do with the struggles of Pierre Gasly, who has been underwhelming to say the least in his first season driving for the team.

Verstappen has scored 162 points and sits in third place in the driver standings behind Mercedes teammates Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in first and second with 225 points and 184 points, respectively, while Vettel sits in fourth with 141 points and Leclerc sits in fifth with 120 points.

Gasly, meanwhile, sits in a distant sixth place with just 55 points, and his sixth place position is currently under attack from McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. in seventh with 48 points.

Coming out of the gate, everybody knew that Red Bull Racing weren’t going to be immediate contenders with their new Honda engines. As such, the target was for them to be competitive starting around the halfway point of the 2019 season.

Having won two of the last three races and with 11 of the season’s 21 races in the books, it is safe to say that they have accomplished that.

There has not been a better driver than Verstappen over the last few weeks, and the only reason he lost a potential podium finish in the British Grand Prix between his two victories is because Vettel crashed into him, relegating him to a fifth place finish.

Red Bull Racing’s qualifying speeds and race pace have dramatically improved since the start of the season, and not just at the tracks that don’t particularly suit Mercedes.

Let’s also not forget that we’re talking about a team that have won four championships before, and relatively recently as well from the 2010 season through the 2013 season. They know what it’s like to run at the front in Formula 1. This isn’t some new arrival to the scene looking to establish themselves as legitimate contenders.

This isn’t Rich Energy. Red Bull Racing have been here before.

It has grown clear that Red Bull Racing have a slight speed advantage over Ferrari, which doesn’t seem like much considering the fact that Ferrari have not yet won a race this season. Their most recent race winner, Kimi Raikkonen, doesn’t even drive for the team anymore.

But Ferrari’s pace as a whole really hasn’t been that far off of Mercedes’ pace; they simply haven’t put together an entire great race weekend from start to finish, and their abundance of blown opportunities has been their downfall. With all things considered, Mercedes should never have won several of the races they have won this season, and for this reason alone.

Put two and two together, and it’s just as clear

Red Bull Racing are right there with Mercedes.

Additionally, practice times can sometimes be deceiving, especially during a rainy practice session, but the fact that Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen finished in first and second place, respectively, in the second and most recent practice session for this Sunday’s race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, at the Hungaroring in Mogyorod, Hungary should do nothing but bode well for the team.

Red Bull Racing have only won the Hungarian Grand Prix twice before, and they have not done so since the 2014 season.

The third and final practice session for this 70-lap race around the 14-turn, 2.722-mile (4.381-kilometer) Hungaroring road course in Mogyorod, Hungary is scheduled to begin shortly. It is set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 beginning at 5:55 a.m. ET. This particular track should suit the team well, but in recent years, the races there have been dominated by Mercedes and Ferrari.

Have Red Bull Racing ascended to Mercedes’ level atop Formula 1 following their hot streak, or do they still have a decent amount to climb? This Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix should be a solid indicator. Qualifying for this race is set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 later this morning beginning at 8:55 a.m. ET, and the race itself is set to be broadcast live on ESPN tomorrow morning beginning at 9:05 a.m. ET.