Red Bull Ferrari "playing poker" with "leapfrog" developments - Hill

Verstappen, Perez, Red Bull, Imola — Photo: © LAT Images

Formula 1

Red Bull Ferrari "playing poker" with "leapfrog" developments - Hill

Red Bull appeared to gain the upper hand on Ferrari at Miami

Sam Hall

Tuesday 3 May 2022 17:14

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill has compared the development battle between Red Bull and Ferrari to playing poker with each team 'waiting to lay the winning hand'.

The opening four races of the current season have seen the momentum shift almost race by race between Ferrari and Red Bull with the teams each registering two grand prix victories so far.

At Imola, Red Bull seized the upper hand after bolting on a number of upgrades, but with Ferrari set to bring a package of its own to Miami this weekend, the picture could change yet again.

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“They’re sitting down and thinking about it more and it’s a bit like playing poker," Hill told the F1 Nation Podcast.

"You need to know which card to lay down and when. Do they play their ace now or do they wait a couple of races until they’re absolutely sure that what they’re going to play is the winning hand?"

Hill hopes for development 'leapfrog'

Although Red Bull and Max Verstappen significantly closed the margins at Imola, it is still Ferrari and Charles Leclerc that lead the way in both the drivers' and constructors' championships.

“I’d like to see a season where you get leapfrogging so, maybe Ferrari comes in [with a development] but maybe Red Bull decides to hang on," added Hill.

"They’ve played their little trump card at Imola and they’re hanging on for a bit and maybe Ferrari are now going to go, ‘We haven’t just been resting on our laurels, doing nothing and assuming we’re going to succeed. We’ve got this package now and we’re going to bring it into play in Miami’.

“But that would be good so you can’t predict the form through the season.”