The fastest car I have seen’ – rivals marvel at Red Bull as…
Sergio Perez drove what his team principal Christian Horner called his “best grand prix” to hold off team-mate Max Verstappen and win in Saudi Arabia, but the big Formula 1 story on Sunday was just how far ahead Red Bull are of everyone else.
It was a confirmation more than a surprise, for Red Bull’s advantage was obviously huge at the opening race of the season in Bahrain two weeks previously. But no less dispiriting for their rivals for that.
The fastest car I have seen’ – rivals marvel at Red Bull as…
A safety car closed up the field at two-fifths distance, and gave Verstappen the chance to fight for victory that would have been impossible until then.
And as the two Red Bulls went at it hammer and tongs at the front – both pushing flat-out as Verstappen sought to close the five-second gap to Perez, and the Mexican sought to defend it – they pulled away from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin behind them at a second a lap, and sometimes more even than that.
Lewis Hamilton – who knows a thing about domination, having experienced it for a number of years with Mercedes – said he had “never seen a car so fast”.
“When we were fast, we weren’t that fast,” the seven-time champion said. “That is the fastest car I have seen compared to the rest.”
His team principal Toto Wolff disagreed – “we have had those years when we were as strong,” he said – but then underlined the hard truth that Red Bull are demonstrating this year, just as Mercedes did from 2014-16 and again in 2020.
“It is a meritocracy,” Wolff said. “Even if it is not great for the show that the same guys win all the time, it is because they have done a good job and we haven’t.
“We shouldn’t down-talk it, because I remember hearing questions like that in 2014-2020, and what makes the sport so special is that you need to work hard to win and you deserve it as a matter of fact.
“Entertainment follows sport. It is maybe not good from the commercial side but it is what makes F1 so special.”
Special is certainly the right word to describe Red Bull’s new car, the RB19.
A development of a design with which Verstappen last year broke the record for wins in a season, it has pushed Red Bull into “a different league”, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has put it, and looks certain to go down in history as one of the greatest F1 cars ever.
READ MORE:Sergio Perez on pole as Max Verstappen 15th after issue and made it clear he will be stepping…
It is another another masterpiece to be produced by a team under the leadership of the sport’s most celebrated designer, Adrian Newey.
Even Red Bull are surprised by the extent of their advantage, Horner admitted after the race. Asked if he understood why they had managed to eke out such a lead over their rivals, he said: “Not really, but you can only focus on yourselves.
“And all testament to the team in Milton Keynes who have done a wonderful job over the winter. It has been the best start to a season we’ve ever had.”
The fastest car I have seen’ – rivals marvel at Red Bull as…
Sergio Perez drove what his team principal Christian Horner called his “best grand prix” to hold off team-mate Max Verstappen and win in Saudi Arabia, but the big Formula 1 story on Sunday was just how far ahead Red Bull are of everyone else.
It was a confirmation more than a surprise, for Red Bull’s advantage was obviously huge at the opening race of the season in Bahrain two weeks previously. But no less dispiriting for their rivals for that.
The fastest car I have seen’ – rivals marvel at Red Bull as…
A safety car closed up the field at two-fifths distance, and gave Verstappen the chance to fight for victory that would have been impossible until then.
And as the two Red Bulls went at it hammer and tongs at the front – both pushing flat-out as Verstappen sought to close the five-second gap to Perez, and the Mexican sought to defend it – they pulled away from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin behind them at a second a lap, and sometimes more even than that.
Lewis Hamilton – who knows a thing about domination, having experienced it for a number of years with Mercedes – said he had “never seen a car so fast”.
“When we were fast, we weren’t that fast,” the seven-time champion said. “That is the fastest car I have seen compared to the rest.”
His team principal Toto Wolff disagreed – “we have had those years when we were as strong,” he said – but then underlined the hard truth that Red Bull are demonstrating this year, just as Mercedes did from 2014-16 and again in 2020.
“It is a meritocracy,” Wolff said. “Even if it is not great for the show that the same guys win all the time, it is because they have done a good job and we haven’t.
“We shouldn’t down-talk it, because I remember hearing questions like that in 2014-2020, and what makes the sport so special is that you need to work hard to win and you deserve it as a matter of fact.
“Entertainment follows sport. It is maybe not good from the commercial side but it is what makes F1 so special.”
Special is certainly the right word to describe Red Bull’s new car, the RB19.
A development of a design with which Verstappen last year broke the record for wins in a season, it has pushed Red Bull into “a different league”, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has put it, and looks certain to go down in history as one of the greatest F1 cars ever.
READ MORE:Sergio Perez on pole as Max Verstappen 15th after issue and made it clear he will be stepping…
It is another another masterpiece to be produced by a team under the leadership of the sport’s most celebrated designer, Adrian Newey.
Even Red Bull are surprised by the extent of their advantage, Horner admitted after the race. Asked if he understood why they had managed to eke out such a lead over their rivals, he said: “Not really, but you can only focus on yourselves.
“And all testament to the team in Milton Keynes who have done a wonderful job over the winter. It has been the best start to a season we’ve ever had.”
