Max Verstappen has rejected Lewis Hamilton’s claim that this year’s Red Bull car is the “fastest he’s ever seen.”
The 2023 season has seen Red Bull win all three of its opening races. With Max taking the top spot in Bahrain and Australia. While Sergio Perez emerged as the winner in Saudi Arabia.
Throughout all three Grand Prix races, the RB19 has demonstrated exceptional speed. Sometimes outpacing the rest of the field by a margin of one second per lap.
After the Jeddah race last month, Hamilton commented that he had never witnessed a car as fast as the RB19. Stating that even when Mercedes was at its peak, they weren’t that fast. He went on to describe it as the quickest car he had seen in comparison to the rest of the field.
Verstappen, who has won two world championships, appears unfazed by the comparison. But he does not think that the current Red Bull team has established a dominant presence as Mercedes did from 2014 to 2021. when they claimed eight consecutive Constructors’ championships.
Max Verstappen Responds to Hamilton’s Claims & Red Bull’s Dominance in F1
“I think if you look at the statistics, then those statements are not correct,” Verstappen remarked in response to a question from the Dutch press, as reported by RacingNews365 NL.
Max acknowledged that their car is also highly competitive. But recognized that they haven’t reached the same level of dominance that Mercedes has demonstrated in some years. However, he emphasized that he does not pay much attention to such comparisons as they do not help achieve their goals. Verstappen added that they have been striving to narrow the gap with Mercedes during the past eight years of their dominance. Which is the only viable course of action for his team.
Following a tumultuous conclusion to the Australian Grand Prix. Hamilton shared the podium with Verstappen in Melbourne. Securing Mercedes’ inaugural podium finish of the season as the seven-time world champion.
Although Mercedes displayed better performance in the Australian race. Toto Wolff has disclosed that the team is currently developing an alternative design concept and is optimistic about incorporating upgrades in the sixth race at Imola.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix (28-30 April). Which also marks the first sprint weekend of the season. The next event on the calendar is scheduled to take place in Baku.
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