The Red Bull team has been dominating the past 2 seasons of the sport, winning 2 driver titles, 1 constructor’s title, and leading the 2023 constructor’s standings. Their performance this year mirrors the 7-year dominance of their constructor’s rival, Mercedes. 2-time world champion, Max Verstappen has led every lap since the 48th lap of the Miami GP. The Dutch driver has led 224 consecutive laps since, presenting him with an opportunity to potentially break a long-standing F1 record.
Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner recently rejected Lewis Hamilton’s idea of adjusting the rules to prevent one team from dominating Formula 1. Hamilton shared his belief that regulations should be implemented to control when competitive teams can begin developing their cars while going into the next season the following year.
Christian Horner dismisses Hamilton’s proposal
Horner expressed his belief that the Mercedes driver’s perspective might be influenced by his decorated history in the sport. Dismissing the suggestion, Horner pointed out the team could face challenges in the future due to the wind tunnel penalty, and teams like Aston Martin may start witnessing the effects by mid-season too.
“Well, he’s obviously talking from personal experience. I think it would be an incredibly hard thing to police. How on Earth could you say: right, first of August, go! How do you prevent people from thinking about or working on next year’s cars?”
He further added that Red Bull’s sister team, AlphaTauri was allocated more wind tunnel time allowing the team an advantage in car development. In summary, Horner said,
“We have a handicap system in Formula 1 through the reduction of wind tunnel time that there is,” he continued. “Franz has almost double the amount of time that we have – so that is a significant handicap and I think Aston Martin will start to feel that as it’s reset at the mid-point of the year.”
“And for us, we have to pick and choose very, very sparingly, what are we going to commit to putting through the wind tunnel. So, it will have an effect, and that system didn’t exist years ago, so we will see that play, and I think the most important thing, and the history of Formula 1 demonstrates it, is stability.”
Toto Wolff, Mercedes team principal dismisses the demand made by Lewis for a tweak in the rules, stating that the British driver was attempting to pressure Red Bull with his demand.
“Lewis always loves to pressure other’s teams; it was more like a joke. I don’t think what he requests is possible,” he said.
How can Red Bull be so dominant in F1?
The RB19 has showcased impressive performance, their average lap time is half a second quicker per lap during racing days. this outstanding performance has led Red Bull to their best-ever season, overtaking the dominance of the RB18 in the 2022 season. The RB19 car’s performance displays Red Bull’s continued competitiveness in the sport.
“There’s not one thing, it’s a culmination of everything working together in harmony and unison,” described team boss Christian Horner.
In the championship standings, Max Verstappen holds an astonishing lead of 123 points over Hamilton, who is currently 4th. His consistent performance this season has allowed the 25-year-old to establish a considerable advantage in the title battle.
What do you think about the Red Bull team’s dominance? Do you agree with Lewis’ demand? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
