Marko: Ferrari strong in all conditions, our car is too heavy

Ferrari have been the standout team of this season, with Charles Leclerc winning in Bahrain, finishing a narrow second a week later in Saudi Arabia while Carlos Sainz, in the sister Red car, scored himself two podiums, second and third respectively.

The great Italian team have finally found the sweet spot by simply producing an exceptional car for the new rules era of F1. In Saudi, a 'virtual safety car' played into Max Verstappen's hands. But what was evident is that Ferrari have their starts right, and their race pace, along with qualy speed is formidable, hence the team to beat so early in the season.

Reflecting on the Saudi Grand Prix weekend, Marko told Red Bull's Servus TV: "Ferrari has the most all-around car. It is fast in all conditions, with any type of tyre, with any temperature. From the start...

"Our car is too heavy. If you're 10kg over the minimum weight, that's three and a costs us half a second to four-tenths of a second (slower) on a track like Jeddah. Reducing weight means more expensive materials, which are lighter, and new parts have to be made as well.

"Our car is definitely more difficult to tune, but we will lose some weight in Imola. That should give us a significant time advantage, time gain in other words," he revealed.

"So the plan now is to combine the next big upgrade with a lighter build to stay within this financial framework. We can't build parts twice," added Marko.

However, the excess weight is somewhat exaggerated by Marko as F1 extended the weight limit ahead of the new season, thus the 10kg 'overweight' he claims is more like 4kg, while a report in the Italian edition of Motorsport.com claimed that the RB18 is set to lose 8Kg by the time it races at Imola.

Notable during the first two rounds is the difference in the rivalry between Red Bull and Mercedes, and their drivers. Packed with sportsmanship, respect and of course the genius of two great young drivers, contrasting vastly to the toxic feud between the Bulls and the Mercedes camp.

Marko explained: "Ferrari are like us, there is passion, there is emotion, sportsmanship and respect and that can be felt in all areas. We have a competitive relationship but within the sporting rules.

"This is not only noticeable between the drivers (Verstappen and Leclerc) but also in the approach, style and technique. We can exchange ideas with Ferrari which is nice," reckoned Marko.

Ferrari have galvanised their Tifosi who now have a true belief that their team has a title-winning package and in Leclerc, they have a smart, super-fast driver ready to step up to the title should they be able to develop and maximise the package that Marko admires s much.

How Red Bull deal with their resurgent old foes will be decisive to where the 2022 F1 World Championship titles will end up.