F1: Red Bull Views Ferrari As Big Threat In 2022

While Red Bull's Helmut Marko and Christian Horner are very well known across F1 circles, its sporting director Jonathan Wheatley played a critical role last season and was often heard on the radio with the FIA - playing a key role in Max Verstappen winning his first world title. Wheatley has marked out Ferrari as a big threat for the 2021 season something his boss Christian Horner had also outlined. 

Ferrari's had an improved show from last year's horror show

Ferrari goes in the 2022 season with grand ambitions after having a tumultuous time in the last few seasons and having gone winless since 2019. It also seeks to win its first world championship since 2008 which is a long time for the most successful team in F1 history. It had pinned its hopes on the 2022 season at the start of the 2020 season when it produced its most uncompetitive car in 40 years in 2020. It has been developing a new engine and also has adopted an aggressive aerodynamic philosophy for the 2022 season. 

"You can get snippets of information from other teams, but you don't know if they are telling you the truth or just trying to make you worried. Basically, you have to look at your own office desk and you have to do the best job you possibly can with that," said the Red Bull sporting director on The Jack Threlfall Show. 

"Ferrari, certainly the power unit, looked very strong at the end of the year. They were clearly the third-fastest team at the end of the year. They've got a great driver line-up as well. I wasn't sure about whether they would gel together as drivers but they seem to have done that very well. I think Ferrari will be the big unknown, or possibly the big threat this year," he added. 

Ferrari is said to be buoyed from a new simulator, some advantages get from development thanks to its lower constructors ranking and a new driver lineup that has paired nicely together.