Red Bull proved that they are clearly the best team after the opening Grand Prix of 2023. Max Verstappen is already the back-to-back F1 champion. Last year he proved that he is far superior to the rest of the drivers on the grid. Moreover, he won a record 15 races of 23 GPs last season. Red Bull, with the Dutchman on the steering wheel, literally dominated the last season. As it seems that they plan to do the same. Mercedes driver George Russell also expressed his feelings that Red Bull may win all 24 races of the current season.
The Silver Arrows are really struggling with their W14 car. Aston Martin impressed everybody after the Bahrain Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso came third after the two Red Bull drivers. Only the oldest F1 driver in recent times looks like a worthy competitor to Red Bull. But even then, the Milton Keynes team with their RB19 looks unbeatable.
Sky Sports Pundit Believe Red Bull Can Go Faster
But fans and experts feel that Max Verstappen could go even faster. The gap between Verstappen and Hamilton was 50 seconds, but it could have been a minute if it was not for the team advising Verstappen to take care of the tires. Hence, he had to slow down a bit. In the following races, everybody expects Red Bull to go even faster and break more records. Martin Brundle of Sky Sports suggested that it is going to be yet another dull year. The 2021 season was exciting because of the tough competition between the seven-time champion and the current double-time champion.
However, since the last season, Horner’s team is not giving other teams any chance. After the Bahrain race, in the press conference, Fernando Alonso joked that it would be great if Verstappen gets two DNFs for the other teams. Brundle mentioned that Red Bull saved power last minute during the end of the race as a result, they slowed the car down. They could have easily won the race with a bigger margin. But they are saving energy for the following races, according to the Sky Sports pundit.
Lewis Hamilton And Charles Leclerc Are Way Behind Verstappen
In the three days of the pre-season testing, Red Bull looked a little bit unhappy about their car. But after the opening race, it was clear they have the upper hand because of the car and their strategies. Verstappen is having the time of his life, and on the other hand, Ferrari and Mercedes are struggling. Charles Leclerc could not finish the race in Bahrain. That is a worrying sign for Ferrari. Mercedes has not yet found the balance correct in W14. It is not letting Hamilton and Russell go full throttle.
Russell mentioned that he would be fine with sacrificing the first phase or more of this year’s season. If it helps the team to build the championship-winning car. The Mercedes engineers worked really hard all year to fix the porpoising issues, but now they are facing new trouble with the balance. They may have to sacrifice this season to build a car that will help them to get back to title contention next year. Since Mercedes looks far behind Red Bull and also Aston Martin as well as Ferrari.
