15/05/2023
NEWS STORY
Red Bull boss, Christian Horner admits surprise that rivals are actually under-delivering compared to last season.
Hush. Whisper it ever so quietly, but having scored four 1-2s in the opening five races, Red Bull could be on its way to dominating a season like no other in the history of the sport.
100% reliability and both drivers scoring points at every opportunity, there are few reasons to bet against the Austrian team wrapping up the titles long before Las Vegas.
While the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari are relying on upgrades, others are hoping that the restriction on aero testing that formed part of the budget cap fine might hinder the Red Bull steamroller, or the intra-team battle might implode, though Stefano Domenicali's hint at flexible rules suggests other methods might be sought.
As we have said in the past, it is not right to handicap success, instead rival teams should be working around the clock - but within the budget, of course - to close the gap.
However, the fact is that after last year's domination, rather than coming out of the starting gate fighting a number of teams have clearly lost ground.
Asked if he expects a sustained challenge in the forthcoming races, accepting that the likes of Monaco will always throw up the odd surprise, Horner admitted: "You can never write anybody off.
"It's been the best start that we've had," he continued, in a masterpiece of understatement, "and we feel we've made a good step from RB18 into 19. It's the kind of step you would expect.
"I think it's more that, it feels like others have lost ground," said. "I'm sure they're working hard to address that. Big gains could come quite quickly."
"It's surprised us that others have perhaps under-delivered compared to where they were last year," he added, referring to the fact that this is the second year since the rules overhaul and that therefore rival teams should have taken a step forward.
"But no doubt they will be looking to address that. I'm sure starting at Imola we're going to see big updates starting to come through.
"Until mathematically when things are done, which is still a long, long way away," replied the Briton, when asked if Imola doesn't deliver the hoped for improvements at the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari the season is effectively over.
"We've got a great car, a great team, two great drivers," he continued, "but there's still a long way to go. Let's reserve judgment until after we see what they turn up with at Imola and Barcelona."