Red Bull will be reeled in by their rivals as this Formula 1 season progresses due to a lack of major upgrades, Sergio Perez has admitted.
The defending champions have won all six races so far this season and will be red hot favourites to make it seven in Barcelona this weekend. Another success will further extend the gap between the leaders and second-placed Aston Martin, which already stands at 129 points.
Fernando Alonso has been one of the stand-out stars of this season but even he has been powerless to stop Max Verstappen, who also tops the drivers' standings. But the Spaniard did post his best result of the season last time out with second place in Monaco.
Mercedes introduced eye-catching car upgrades at that race and have more to come, while Ferrari have also changed their aero design this weekend in Spain. Red Bull are also developing, of course, but have much less wind tunnel time to play with thanks to their title win last year and their cost cap penalty.
Perez is wary that other teams will close in on them as a result. He said: "I think everyone is closing up the gap. We're not really bringing big upgrades anymore. So I do expect people to get closer every single weekend."
The advantage Red Bull has built already means other teams will know a late-season title charge is unlikely. But the likes of Alonso and Lewis Hamilton will be hopeful that they might be in even greater contention for race wins later in the season.
For a long while it looked as though the only man Verstappen had to worry about was his team-mate, with two wins each from the first four race weekends. But Perez was beaten by the Dutchman who started from ninth in Miami, while the Mexican's title hopes took a huge blow last weekend in Monaco where he failed to score points.
Insisting that result has not turned up the pressure, Perez says he is only thinking about the short-term. "I want to maximise my weekends and not think too much about the championship," he said. "It's all about maximising the weekends, getting the maximum positions I possibly can and go from there, really.
"Anything can happen, we have so many races ahead that it can turn around very quickly. The speed is there, which is the most positive. We just have to go from there. Just making sure we are qualifying well, making sure we are racing well. Not making mistakes, when we have a bad day, make sure that we get as many points as possible. We can't afford any more zeros in the championship."
