"You need to know which card to lay down and when" - Former F1 champion says Red Bull and Ferrari are 'playing poker' with developments

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill says Red Bull and Ferrari are “playing poker” with their car developments amid restrictions overspending and aerodynamic testing.

Hill believes both teams might be holding back on bringing upgrades until they feel it is absolutely necessary. Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, he said:

"They’re sitting down and thinking about it more and it’s a bit like playing poker.

"You need to know which card to lay down and when. Do they play their ace now or do they wait a couple of races until they’re absolutely sure that what they’re going to play is the winning hand?"

The introduction of the budget cap last season, along with the sliding scale aerodynamic testing allowance, has drastically changed the way teams approach car developments.

Given that each team is now only allowed to spend a limited amount of resources per year, the number of upgrades brought to each new race has fallen drastically.

Rather than spending resources on bringing marginal upgrades to the car, teams are now spending more time understanding their existing machinery and maximizing its potential.

Despite their impressive form so far this season, the Scuderia are yet to bring a major upgrade to the F1-75.

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Damon Hill wants Ferrari and Red Bull to “leapfrog” each other throughout the 2022 F1 season

Damon Hill wants to see both Red Bull and Ferrari leapfrog each other in terms of performance, bringing in new upgrades as the season progresses to outperform each other.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, the Briton said:

"I’d like to see a season where you get leapfrogging so, maybe Ferrari comes in [with a development] but maybe Red Bull decides to hang on.

"They’ve played their little trump card at Imola and they’re hanging on for a bit and maybe Ferrari are now going to go, ‘We haven’t just been resting on our laurels, doing nothing and assuming we’re going to succeed. We’ve got this package now and we’re going to bring it into play in Miami’."

During the first few races of the season, both championship contenders have been closely matched. However, that is likely to change as the season progresses.