“Definitely a Concern”: Lewis Hamilton Worried About ‘Complacent Red Bull’ Dominance After One-Sided Abu Dhabi GP

“Definitely a Concern”: Lewis Hamilton Worried About ‘Complacent Red Bull’ Dominance After One-Sided Abu Dhabi GP

Max Verstappen cruised to yet another comfortable race win at the 2023 Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday. This prompted Lewis Hamilton to showcase his concerns over the dominance of Red Bull despite the Milton Keynes-based team displaying ‘complacency’ since August.

While talking about Red Bull’s dominance during the race in the context of the RB19 being practically unchanged since August, Hamilton said, “For Red Bull to win by 17 seconds in the end, and they haven’t developed their car since August is definitely a concern.”

At the start of the race, Verstappen faced a bit of competition from Charles Leclerc. However, after dispatching the Monegasque, Verstappen went on to build an unassailable lead for the Grand Prix win. Meanwhile, Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, finished in fourth after a five-second penalty dropped him outside the podium places.

Irrespective of the result in Abu Dhabi, Red Bull had already sealed the Constructors’ and the Driver’s Championships well in advance with a hefty lead. And as the 2023 season came to an end, their rivals can only look forward to 2024 and try to claw back any performance to bridge the gap to the very front of the field.

Lewis Hamilton optimistic of 2024 title charge

While Lewis Hamilton was concerned by the ease with which Red Bull have obliterated the field this year, the seven-time champion is hopeful that his Mercedes team have learned the vital lessons to build a stronger W15. The team themselves have divulged that they will be looking at more than one concept to overhaul the current spec W14 into the 2024 trim.

From early signs and simulations, it looks as though there is some promise from that avenue. Notably, even George Russell seems like Mercedes have an ace up their sleeves for next year.

Alongside Mercedes, the likes of Ferrari and McLaren have upped their game, too. The MCL60 is practically the second-fastest car on the grid in most races, and Ferrari have unlocked a lot of pace from their 2o23 challenger.

Naturally, coming in 2024, fans would be hoping to see a four-way fight for the title with Red Bull on the verge of facing their greatest test yet off the back of an unprecedented and dominating season of F1 racing.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Mercedes Red Bull

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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