Oscar Piastri believes Red Bull has now reached Mercedes’ level of competitiveness after a significant step forward from the upgrades introduced at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The McLaren driver says the recent development work from the Milton Keynes team has changed the competitive order, with Max Verstappen’s victory at Sepang providing the clearest evidence yet of that progress.
Verstappen arrived in Singapore after claiming his first victory of the season in Malaysia and was targeting another win at Marina Bay, a circuit where the four-time world champion had never previously stood on the top step of the podium. In Piastri’s view, that objective had become realistic because of Red Bull’s rapid improvement since Baku.
Oscar Piastri says Red Bull has closed the gap to Mercedes
Red Bull introduced a package of upgrades at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that helped reduce the deficit to Mercedes, with the progress eventually culminating in victory at Sepang.
Piastri finished sixth in Malaysia, but ahead of the Singapore weekend he highlighted how much Red Bull had improved relative to the rest of the field.
“Mercedes has been very strong throughout the season so far, and it was not a big surprise to see them so quick on the Baku street circuit, which has long straights,” Oscar Piastri explained.
“But when you consider how many straights there are on the Malaysian circuit, it was surprising that they were not faster.”
Piastri points to Baku upgrade as turning point
For Piastri, the most significant change came from the package Red Bull introduced in Baku.
“Whatever Red Bull recently brought to the car in Baku must have represented a significant step forward.”
The full extent of that improvement was not immediately obvious because Max Verstappen was unable to start near the front in qualifying due to a power-unit problem.
Even so, his race pace gave Piastri a clear indication of Red Bull’s potential.
“It did not become completely clear because Max did not start near the front in qualifying because of the power-unit problem. However, at the end of the race he was able to put George under a lot of pressure, and I think that if he had started further forward, he could have done that throughout the race.”
Verstappen was fastest driver in fastest car at Sepang, says Piastri
That impression was strengthened in Malaysia, where Verstappen converted Red Bull’s progress into victory.
“In Malaysia he was clearly the fastest driver in the fastest car, so I am convinced that the other teams are making progress.”
Piastri believes that Red Bull’s improvement has altered a competitive picture that had previously featured Mercedes in a position of clear superiority.
“There seems to be a constant back-and-forth between us and Ferrari, but Mercedes has always been in a category of its own and I think that, over the last few weeks, Red Bull Racing has somehow joined them.”
F1’s competitive order tightens after Red Bull progress
Piastri’s assessment suggests that Mercedes may no longer enjoy the same degree of separation from the rest of the leading teams that it had earlier in the season.
McLaren and Ferrari have continued to trade performance from weekend to weekend, while Red Bull’s recent gains have now brought another team into the fight at the front.
For Verstappen, the timing of that progress is particularly important. After victory at Sepang, Red Bull entered Singapore with renewed confidence and with evidence that its latest development direction had delivered a meaningful performance gain.
The next question is whether that step can be sustained across different circuits. Piastri’s verdict, however, was clear: Red Bull’s recent upgrades have been significant enough to move the team much closer to Mercedes than it had been earlier in the season.
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