Red Bull MUST solve reoccurring F1 problem to maintain dominance
Red Bull MUST solve reoccurring F1 problem to maintain dominance
You would be forgiven for thinking that Red Bull have little to nothing to worry about having won every race so far in 2023.
Max Verstappen is cruising to his third world title in as many years, while the team hold a comfortable constructors' championship lead with over half of the season gone already.
But there is one thing that the Milton Keynes team may have to address if they don't want it to become a big problem.
If Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin or McLaren can somehow get their car on terms with whatever Adrian Newey's miracle mind can come up with next season, Christian Horner and company will have a significant challenge to overcome.
READ MORE: Christian Horner: The Red Bull giant and ‘Drive to Survive’ star
The second driver conundrum
It's no secret that while Verstappen is at the peak of his powers right now, Sergio Perez is not quite at that same level.
But that isn't necessarily the Mexican's fault entirely, because the 'second driver' at Red Bull has been something of a cursed seat for more than a decade.
Only during Verstappen's partnership with Daniel Ricciardo have two Red Bull drivers been evenly matched.
Back when Sebastian Vettel was dominating, Mark Webber just couldn't find a way to match him despite having the same car... most of the time.
Perez is now suffering that same fate with Verstappen, and Red Bull have to sort it out.
READ MORE: Who is Helmut Marko? The genius behind Red Bull rise to power
Compatible car
The problem really falls at the feet of Newey and his design team, who have made such a monster with the help of Verstappen that nobody else can get up to speed with it.
Any F1 driver could get the RB19 into the points on a regular basis, but to find that extra five per cent requires several years of getting to know the machine.
Perez's performances have been highly scrutinised this season but Newey has to take some of the blame - if you can call it that.
With no car on the same level as the RB19 at the hands of Verstappen, it isn't a problem for Red Bull. But as soon as they have a challenger, the issue will haunt them in a big way.
READ MORE: Why Adrian Newey is the BEST and WORST thing to happen to F1
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F1 Standings
Drivers
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Nyck De Vries
- Liam Lawson
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2023
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Australia 2023
- Grand Prix of China 2023
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2023
- Miami Grand Prix 2023
- Qatar Airways Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell'emilia Romagna 2023
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2023
- AWS Gran Premio de España 2023
- Grand Prix du Canada 2023
- Grand Prix of Austria 2023
- Aramco Grand Prix of Great Britain 2023
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2023
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2023
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Italy 2023
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2023
- Grand Prix of Japan 2023
- Qatar Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of the United States 2023
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2023
- Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2023
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