Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen
F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 44 Lewis Hamilton GBR, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, 33 Max Verstappen NED, Red Bull Racing, F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 11, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Photo by Kamran Jebreili/AP/FIA Pool via HOCH ZWEI Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates Poolfoto HOCH ZWEI/Pool/AP ,EDITORIAL USE ONLY.

Sir Lewis Hamilton might not be able to beat Red Bull this year because the Mercedes car is just not good enough. It has been the same case since the cost cap era began in 2022. The last time the fans saw an epic battle between the Silver Arrows and the Austrian outfit was back in 2021. That was the final year of the turbo-hybrid era. Toto Wolff’s team dominated the previous era. No other team could come close to beat the Brackley outfit. However, 2021 was an exciting season both for the constructor title as well as the Driver’s World Championship. Nevertheless, Mercedes won in 2021. But the big and epic showdown happened in the final race at Abu Dhabi when Max Verstappen dethroned the seven-time champion.

Lewis Hamilton missed his chance to win the coveted eighth title in the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. Even then, nobody expected the Silver Arrows to fall as low as they had in the past two years. They have not managed to understand the car, its balance, and its design as much as it would help them win multiple races. Since 2022, they have only won a solitary race in the 2022 Brazilian GP. Moreover, Hamilton has remained winless since 2022. Lately, in the 2024 Chinese GP, fans could see Hamilton checking out the RB20 car. Later, Red Bull made fun of the seven-time champion and their rivals, Mercedes.

   

Red Bull Calls Lewis Hamilton An Admirer Of RB20

Formula 1 Championship - Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia Romagna 2021, imola
April 18, 2021, Imola, Roma, Italy: Start of the race: HAMILTON Lewis (gbr), Mercedes AMG F1 GP W12 E Performance, VERSTAPPEN Max (ned), Red Bull Racing Honda RB16B, PEREZ Sergio (mex), Red Bull Racing Honda RB16B, action during the Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell Emilia Romagna 2021 from April 16 to 18, 2021 on the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, in Imola, Italy – Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI / LiveMedia (Credit Image: © Dppi/LPS via ZUMA Press)

Max Verstappen and the Austrian outfit had a great start to the 2024 season, as expected. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton had the worst start to a season in his 17-year-long career. Already, F1 teams have covered five races in 2024. But the seven-time champion has not yet finished higher than P5 in any of those five races. Moreover, George Russell had a better start to the season than his former world champion teammate. However, the seven-time champion surprised his fans when he displayed a great performance in the first sprint race of the ongoing season. He finished at P2 behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. 

During the sprint race in Shanghai, Lewis Hamilton led most of the laps, but the current triple-time champion showed his class and snatched away the victory. After the sprint race, Lewis Hamilton decided to look at RB20. Later, the Red Bull admins posted Hamilton’s image on X, saying, “RB20 already has admirers.” Surely, that post was meant to provoke their rivals. Later that weekend, Max Verstappen claimed victory in the Chinese Grand Prix. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton finished at P9 after a rough qualifying session where he had a P18 finish. 

Is RB20 Better Than It’s Predecessors?

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When the cost cap era started, everybody thought RB18 was the fastest car they had ever seen. Then, in 2023, Red Bull came with an even faster and superior car RB19 that surely will go down in history as one of the greatest F1 cars ever. Thanks to RB19, Christian Horner’s team ended up winning 21 of 22 GPs. Max Verstappen alone won an incredible 19 races.

And now, in the ongoing season, it is quite prominent that Red Bull made some changes in the sidepods, making it resemble the Mercedes W14 look. But the car is way better and faster. The Milton Keynes outfit has already won four out of five GPs so far. But is the RB20 car better than the RB19? Only time can answer that. But some surely claim that it is better. 

Stay tuned to Sports News International for more such updates about your favorite F1 team.