Martin Brundle gave credit to the dominance Red Bull are showing in the 2023 Formula 1 season, lamenting that their cost cap breach is allowing others to undermine their achievements.
Martin Brundle gave credit to the dominance Red Bull are showing in the 2023 Formula 1 season, lamenting that their cost cap breach is allowing others to undermine their achievements.In 2022, Red Bull where found to have breached the cost cap for the 2021 F1 season and were fined $7-Million and had their aero development time reduced by 10% over 12 months, which means they are currently dealing with this penalty that will cast a shadow on their 2023 campaign.
And after the Milton Keynes won all races so far this season achieving one-two’s in four of them, many are now nagging about their dominance, with rivals even insinuating that the team is currently benefiting from the extra money they spent in 2021, trying to discredit their achievement, while the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari are miserable suffering with below par cars – a misery of their own making of course – and are now beaten by Aston Martin who emerged as the second fastest team on the grid in 2023.
Brundle, a former F1 driver turned pundit insisted on giving credit where credit is due in his latest Sky Sports F1 column.
He wrote: “It’s a pity that Red Bull breached the cost cap regulations last year because it’s too easy for some to try to minimise what they are achieving now. They are dominant, and it’s for the other teams and drivers to do a better job.
“With the DRS rear wing open the Red Bull is fundamentally much faster in top speed than the other nine teams, so much so that I suspect that wherever they start on the grid, and given no outside factors, they can finish one-two,” Brundle added touching on as aspect of Red Bull’s RB19 that is keeping their rivals scratching their heads.
“Their speed is simply irresistible and that’s where the other teams must focus. It won’t be easy, that’s an overall car design philosophy rather than an update, and even then, only after they’ve understood what Red Bull are doing to dump so much drag.”
Verstappen not taking risks knowing his RB19’s potential
Max Verstappen won the 2023 Miami Grand Prix after a masterful drive from ninth on the grid, and Brundle pointed out that Dutchman’s early on safe approach banking on his RB19’s superior pace and devastating straight-line speed.
He said: “A cautious Verstappen even lost a place on the opening lap, dropping to 10th, fully aware that he’d cruise past the pack in relatively short order as soon as DRS was enabled, and using his prodigious, metronomic speed and tyre management thereafter.”
As for those crying out that F1 is boring because of Red Bull’s dominance, Brundle said: “Of course, I’d rather there were at least two teams fighting for the victories, that would be much better, but believe me when I say that Murray Walker and I would have killed for that much race action 25 years ago in the commentary box on many occasions.
“That doesn’t mean to say we shouldn’t focus on improving the racing and I am concerned that the 2023 cars, loaded with ever more downforce, are not helping in that respect.
“The Red Bull DRS success creates another fundamental issue in that they simply breeze past the opposition as I’ve described above, but shortening the length of the DRS zones (based on 2022 data) is not helping the rest of the field make passes.
“Quite a dilemma but nothing the FIA can really do there, the other teams simply must catch up,” the veteran of 158 grands prix concluded.