Red Bull has dominated the 2023 Formula 1 season so far, with their drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez winning 3 out of the 3 races held.
Verstappen and Perez shared the victories, with the current World Champion claiming victories in the Australian GP and the Bahrain GP, and finishing just behind his teammate in the Saudi Arabian GP, where the Spaniard took the win.
Checo ➕ Turn 9 💪 A perfect match 👊 #F1pic.twitter.com/d7WjxIhuqu
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) April 4, 2023
In the most recent race, Max started from the pit lane in Melbourne, while Perez qualified poorly and finished in the top five, giving Max a fifteen-point lead going into the race.
According to four-time Drivers’ Champion Alain Prost, “a crisis is never far away,” even for top teams like Red Bull, as evidenced by the beginning of this Formula 1 season.
Given Sergio Perez’s apparent change in attitude toward challenging teammate Max Verstappen, Prost said the upcoming races will be “crucial” for the Red Bull team dynamic. In light of Perez’s recent attitude adjustment, Prost worries that the continued rivalry between the two drivers could lead to friction within the Red Bull garage.
Prost wrote the following in his column for L’Équipe :
“It’s system of favouring a single driver, Max Verstappen, which has worked so well, is showing its first signs of failure.”
“Sergio Perez, now settled in the team, is discovering that he can win and is no longer willing to compromise to stay.
“Even if Red Bull’s domination continues, the next few weeks will be crucial for the reigning World Champions. It’s clear that anything can quickly throw a spanner in the works and that, even at the top, a crisis is never far away.”
Prost believes every team has “crisis” on the grid
Prost thinks that, right now, nearly every team on the grid is experiencing some sort of “crisis,” with Red Bull’s early pace causing the rest of the field a lot of trouble.
German GP 1993
Alain Prost onboard in the Williams FW15C at the Hockenheimring#F1 #Formula1 #RetroGP #F1Retro pic.twitter.com/SJWEG3PTEG
— Kris van Ditshuizen (@KrisVanD2) April 4, 2023
He wrote, “It’s a weird start to the season,” “Wherever you look, you can see that it’s not going well and that, in a way, it’s already a crisis. And a crisis on all levels, whether you are big or a small.
With Azerbaijan GP coming up at the end of this months, the teams should take Alain Prost’s comments seriously, especially Red Bull, who need to figure out a way to increase the dynamic between their two drivers.
