Max Verstappen is relishing his own era in Formula 1. Winning nine races out of 11 starts this season, Verstappen is set out to make Red Bull the first team to be undefeated throughout a season if this form continues till Abu Dhabi. Such a feat was never done by Mercedes, who won eight world titles in a row before Red Bull took the baton. However, while speaking to SkySports, Nico Rosberg believes the Silver Arrows had an identical dominance. However, he highlights one minor difference.
With the turbo-hybrid engine regulations, Mercedes emerged as the most dominant force in the sport. With Lewis Hamilton and Rosberg as their drivers, the team was unmatchable in every aspect.
There is no other era of F1 where the domination was this rampant, so please can it with the revisionism. Ferrari from ’02 – ’04 was briefly 74.5%, but that’s only 3 seasons as opposed to 7.
Mercedes currently hold 6 of the 10 most statistically dominant seasons in F1 history. pic.twitter.com/HiMZt1VZog
— Mark Silverstone⁵⁹⌛ (@SilverMarkF1) July 26, 2023
However, utopias are a dream. Soon, Rosberg and Hamilton formed a huge rivalry that was too huge for Mercedes to handle, translating to collisions between the two teammates. And Rosberg explains that was one of the key reasons for Mercedes never having the ‘perfect dominance’ as in their era; at least others won here and there.
Nico Rosberg tells one small thing that sets Red Bull apart from Mercedes
Mercedes had an unending level of dominance that made many fans hopeless for almost a decade. But Red Bull isn’t even giving a glimmer of hope by winning all races this season. However, Rosberg thinks Mercedes was similar in dominance, but a few errors, reliability, and team tensions occasionally came in the way.
“We were just as dominant as Red Bull as now. We were getting all the pole positions, all the wins. It was when we were messing up and having some crashes or reliability concerns between the two of us. Because it was the beginning of the hybrid era, so at that time, there were more reliability concerns in the powertrains. I think probably that’s the only difference,” said Rosberg on the Sky F1 podcast.
Well, Red Bull is on the verge of having the perfect season, as they can technically win all the races. But on the other hand, Lewis Hamilton tried to highlight some foul play by Red Bull in Hungary.
Lewis Hamilton asked where did the DRS speed go?
In Hungary last Saturday, Hamilton defeated Verstappen to get the pole position. It was the first time since Miami when the Dutchman was toppled from the spot.
Me Celebrating Lewis Pole trying not remind myself that Max Verstappen will take the lead in lap 3 or 5 when DRS is activated #HungarianGP
pic.twitter.com/uTLvc3VvFt— ahmed baokbah 🇸🇦🏎✈️ (@ahmed_baokbah) July 22, 2023
Therefore, Hamilton quickly conspired that Red Bull’s DRS pace was forcefully reduced. Ted Kravitz even remarked that Hamilton is lobbying the media to investigate the possibility and whether FIA had a hand.
But coming on Sunday, Red Bull showed they are still the ultimate team with the best pace, as both their cars finished on the podium. So, maybe, Hamilton was too quick to conclude.
