Red Bull invincible this season? “23 Grands Prix is ​​a marathon” replies Horner

The ultra-domination of Red Bull in Bahrain made many envious, but also many worried. At the end of the inaugural Grand Prix on the Sakhir track, many had already lost hope for the 2023 championship, believing that the advance of the single-seaters from Milton Keynes was too substantial. George Russell even took the bet that the Austrian team will win all the races of the season. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner quickly calmed things down following this statement. “23 Grands Prix is ​​a marathon… We expect our rivals to come back strongly in the next few races. »

The British director does not want any excitement around his team, believing that it is still too early to draw conclusions about the hierarchy of the grid. “People have very short memories in this profession. You are as good as you were in your last race. Today we are heroes, tomorrow it could be Ferrari, Mercedes ou Aston Martin, he summarized. The problem is that we only have one data set, which is that of this circuit. We take nothing for granted. We'll see you in Jeddah in two weeks, then Melbourne. I think once we have two or three circuits under our belt, we will have a much better idea of ​​the strengths and weaknesses of our car and our opponents. »

“A phenomenal performance” according to Horner

In the meantime, Red Bull scored well in Bahrain with a double and 43 points scored in the first round of the season. An (almost) perfect score, very far from the double abandonment experienced in 2022 at the same stage. Above all, the RB19 does not seem to have any major faults and largely dominated the rest of the grid, both on a timed lap and on the race pace. “It was a phenomenal performance from the whole team, rejoiced Christian Horner, before explaining how Red Bull achieved such a performance in Bahrain. We focused a little more on the race than on qualifying, and it paid off today. We were able to run with the softer [tire] compound, especially in the mid-stroke, while still maintaining durability. »

The reigning world champions have certainly struck a major blow on the heads of their opponents in the first round of 2023. More than ever, Red Bull and Max Verstappen act as favorites in their own succession…

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