George Russell of Team Mercedes and Max Verstappen of Team Red Bull are both 25-year-olds. But their career has taken a different trajectory. Verstappen joined Red Bull at the right time and, after a little wait, became the world champion in 2021. On the other hand, Russell made his debut for big gun Mercedes late in 2022. Albeit the season did not go as planned for the German team, the Briton was able to beat his star teammate Lewis Hamilton last year.
He managed to win the solitary race for Mercedes last season in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Meanwhile, Verstappen has kept establishing his dominance on the grid with every Grand Prix since 2022. He won 15 out of 22 Grand Prix races last year and created a record for most race wins in a single season. The previous best was two German greats – Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel with 13 wins in a season. Two drivers of the same age yet with such big differences. However, they were similar enough to annoy Red Bull boss Christian Horner in yesterday’s Spanish Grand Prix. But how? Keep reading to find out.
Max Verstappen And George Russell Annoys Christian Horner In Barcelona
After the Spanish GP wrapped up, Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal, stated that the FIA should have penalized George Russell before the Spanish Grand Prix as he secured a P12 ahead of Sergio Perez in the Qualifying rounds. The Red Bull boss feels if Russell had paid the penalty, then Checo would’ve got to yet another podium finish. Horner told Sky Sports, “Russell got away with running off track. He did not get a penalty. It made the difference because Checo was getting stronger, especially in the last stint.” He believed Perez had enough laps to get to a podium finish.
On the other hand, the 25-year-old of Red Bull driver also annoyed his team boss as well. Red Bull repeatedly warned Max Verstappen about accumulating too many track violations. But he pushed even harder to win the fastest lap. As a result, after the race, Christian Horner told Sky Sports, “We’ll talk about following orders later.” Anyway, Verstappen was again unstoppable as he won his 40th Grand Prix. Now, he is just one race win short of the Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna’s record. It won’t take him much longer to stay behind Senna as he is en route to break his own record of the previous year. Hence, the fans are waiting to see if Max Verstappen can win more than 16 Grands Prix this season.
Mercedes Successful In Securing Two-Podium Wins In Spain
However, after the first seven races of the 2023 season, Max Verstappen looks to ensure that he wins the driver’s championship three years in a row. The Dutchman has already won five out of the seven races so far. On the other hand, George Russell had his best race this season in Barcelona, Spain, as he finished at P3. Moreover, it was his first podium finish this year.
It was Mercedes’s first double podium finish. Lewis Hamilton got his second podium finish this season as he finished at P2 again after the Australian Grand Prix. Even though Mercedes had their best Grand Prix so far this season, the governing body penalized the former constructor’s title holders. According to FIA, the Mercedes F1 team breached the Parc-Ferme rule and hence, will have to pay 10,000 euros.
