F1 News: FIA President Hits Back At Lewis Hamilton's Proposal - "It's Red Bull's Time"
The current Formula 1 season is undoubtedly Red Bull's arena, with Max Verstappen's incredible performance propelling the team to a significant lead. This dominance has sparked suggestions to curb the team's development and level the competition field. However, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has made it clear he's against the notion.
Lewis Hamilton proposed setting a specific date, August 1, as the earliest possible time all teams could commence work on the next year's car, to prevent any team from gaining an undue head start. Yet, Red Bull shrugged off the suggestion, stating Hamilton hadn't raised such concerns when he was on a winning streak.
Ben Sulayem firmly dismisses the idea of deliberately impeding Red Bull. As he told The Associated Press:
“If we go about what's good and bad we'll open the door. I mean, was it good for Mercedes? Fair enough?
“It is [Verstappen’s] time, it’s Red Bull’s time. What do we do and punish the good kid? No, let’s go and make the other teams good. Nobody’s stopping the other teams from being better.
“We cannot punish people for being better, for trying harder. That is unfair.”
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Echoing his sentiments, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali previously ruled out manipulating the system to allow Red Bull's competitors to catch up. He stated:
“It’s not correct because we cannot be seen as part of manipulation.
“This is not correct, and this is not fair. I am not imagining at all this kind of approach.
“I think that the gap is between one team and the others.
“We need to consider that they [Red Bull] did an incredible job. It is true that the gap seems to be big, but we need to be prudent, because we know in life things can change very quickly.
The championship's current state stands as a testament to Red Bull's remarkable efforts. Verstappen leads the Drivers’ Championship with 229 points, followed by his teammate Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso. Red Bull's team score also outstrips Mercedes by 199 points. It's clear that, for now, it is "Red Bull's time."