Is Red Bull becoming Mercedes’ main rival?

Max Verstappen’s emphatic victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang circuit has reopened the debate over the hierarchy in Formula 1.

It was the Milton Keynes team’s first triumph of the season, but more importantly, it was their first-ever victory with their own power unit, developed jointly with Ford (Red Bull-Ford Powertrains).

Since the race in Belgium, Verstappen has shown remarkable consistency, finishing on the podium in every race except the Dutch Grand Prix, where he retired after an incident on the opening lap in difficult weather conditions.

Although Mercedes remain the unreachable leaders in the Constructors’ Championship with a 258-point advantage, the battle for the silver medals is heating up:

Red Bull are just 18 points behind McLaren, who currently occupy third place.

The gap to Ferrari, who sit second in the standings, is 107 points.

As the championship enters its final phase, Red Bull’s pace suggests that the team are ready to make a serious push to overtake those ahead of them, backed by the improved performance of their new power unit.

The upcoming races will show whether Red Bull’s current resurgence will be enough to complete the turnaround and climb to second place in the World Championship.