Vasseur backs top three to pull away again

Formula One seems to have two classes right now, the top three teams and the rest.

Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull are streets ahead any other team on the grid, and in fact they are so dominant, only one driver from outside the top three teams scored a podium all season, when Sergio Perez grabbed third in a crazy Baku race.

The field seems to be a bit closer this season, with testing showing that there might not be such a gap between the top three and the midfield.

However, Alfa Romeo boss Frederic Vasseur believes that the big three will pull away once again.

He said: "It is close because they were fighting in 2018 for the championship and probably they started a little bit later than us.

"But now they will be full push on the 2019 regulations, and they will develop much faster than the midfield teams and the gap will increase.

"It was not the case last year because at one stage you have a kind of convergence of performance after two or three seasons with the same regulations, but now we are starting from scratch."