Is Red Bull slowing down on purpose?

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The three previous GPs of this season were firmly in the hands of Red Bull: Max Verstappen (Bahrain, Melbourne) won twice, Sergio Pérez (Saudi Arabia) once. Both took second place. With 123 points, the racing team leads the Constructors’ Championship – almost twice as much as closest pursuer Aston Martin (65 points).

And Mercedes star George Russell (25) thinks that the two Red Bull drivers could drive even faster, but they don’t do that on purpose. “Certainly they are holding back,” says the Briton (a GP win, São Paulo 2022) in the BBC podcast “Chaquered Flag”. Russell, whose car caught fire on lap 18 of the Chaos Australian GP, ​​suspects Red Bull could “probably gain a seventeenth lead” over the rest of the teams per lap.

But why would they consciously hold back? Russell thinks he knows: “They are almost embarrassed to show their full potential. Because the faster they drive, the more the sport will try to tie them back.”

Verstappen and Horner clear the world of rumours

Two-time world champion Verstappen (37 GP wins in 166 races) dismisses the allegations against the BBC and says that the focus in Melbourne was on tire management. “We had a bit more speed than the others and there’s no point in trying to gain half a second a lap and smash the tires to the end,” said the 25-year-old.

Christian Horner (49), team principal of Red Bull-Honda, agrees: “The fact is that you use your options carefully in every race. The Australian GP was a classic one-stop, so that’s what we did when it came to tire management.”

You could have seen, especially with five-time GP winner Pérez, that he does not back down. The 33-year-old Mexican had to start the race from the pit lane and was forced to catch up (finally finished fifth). Horner: “I couldn’t see this alleged seven-tenths per lap.” (che)

Source : Blick