George Russell: Red Bull Is Sandbagging To Hide True Performance From FIA
Mercedes driver George Russell suspects that Max Verstappen's seemingly modest nine-second lead during the Australian Grand Prix doesn't accurately reflect Red Bull's genuine prowess. Russell theorises that the team is sandbagging, fearing that FIA may intervene if their dominance becomes too apparent.
Verstappen himself admitted he didn't need to assert excessive force during restart skirmishes with Mercedes adversaries at the Albert Park circuit. The Dutchman's confidence in the Red Bull car's swiftness meant that "even losing one or two spots was not the end of the world." This was also mirrored at the Bahrain Grand Prix as Max was told to slow down.
Verstappen's Seamless Victory Highlights Red Bull's Concealed Advantage
While Russell's race was disrupted by the first of three red flags, Verstappen effortlessly overtook Lewis Hamilton with his DRS enabled and created a lead of around 2 seconds in no time at all. The Red Bull driver continued to secure a nine-second lead over the British driver, appearing to coast toward the team's third win of the season.
In fact, Max even left the track as he out-braked a corner, and returned to the tarmac with no negative consequences on his lead whatsoever.
Russell is now convinced that this performance was attained without Verstappen pushing the RB19 to its maximum potential. He argues that Red Bull is purposefully holding back to avoid drawing unwanted attention.
“For sure they’re holding back,” Russell told the Chequered Flag podcast. “I think they are almost embarrassed to show their full potential because the faster they seem, the more that the sport is going to try and hold them back somehow.
“I think realistically they probably have seven-tenths advantage over the rest of the field.
“I don’t know what the pace difference looks like at the moment but Max has got no reason to be pushing it nor has Red Bull.
“They’ve done a really great job to be fair to them. We can’t take that away, and we clearly have to up our game.”
Competitors Close In, but Red Bull Maintains Its Lead
Verstappen was the clear winner in his RB19, but after a difficult qualifying, Sergio Perez 'only' managed a P5 finish, bearing in mind that this track is notoriously difficult to overtake on.
Helmut Marko, an advisor for Red Bull, believes the team's challengers are getting closer to their gearboxes:
"You can see how close it is when a little thing doesn't work out because we're always said to have a superiority that only exists when everything is running smoothly.
“Our rivals Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes have made gains.”
Despite any advances made by their competitors, Red Bull continues to lead the Constructors' Championship with 123 points after three races. Aston Martin follows in second place with 65 points, with Mercedes hot on their heels at 56 points.
In the Drivers' standings, Verstappen remains at the top with 69 points, 15 ahead of teammate Perez and 24 ahead of Fernando Alonso. As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see if Red Bull's rivals can genuinely challenge their authority and compel the team to unveil their full potential.