Lewis Hamilton got another reality check at the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP. The Briton was out-qualified by teammate George Russell and both Aston Martin and Ferrari, along with the Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
He started P7 ahead of Max Verstappen, who started P15 after early retirement. But the Mercedes driver stood no chance to defend his arch-rival when the two faced off during the race.
On lap 24, Verstappen approached Lewis’s W14 on the main straight of the Jeddah Corniche. The Dutchman opened his DRS flaps and whizzed past the Briton, who was helpless in defending his position.
RB19 is the fastest F1 car that Lewis Hamilton has ever seen 👀#F1 #lewishamilton #MaxVerstappen #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/S0OoOgf1hU
— Sportskeeda F1 (@SportskeedaF1) March 20, 2023
The 7-time World Champion was left in awe of the RB19, which he described as the fastest car he has ever seen. And a grim reality of how far back Mercedes is from Red Bull.
Ted Kravitz agrees with Lewis Hamilton regarding RB19’s superiority
Lewis Hamilton could offer no defense as Max Verstappen slotted his car with ease. Sky Commentator David Croft compared the Dutchman’s overtake on the Mercedes driver with an F1 car vs. an F2 car.
To which fellow Sky Presenter Ted Kravitz agrees with the Briton’s statements. Kravitz claims in Hamilton’s 17 years in F1, no driver has ever had so much pace advantage and overtaken the driver in such a dominant fashion.
He said, “Lewis is right. What he is referring to is the ease at which Max overtook him on the straight the moment he opened his DRS.”
“That looked like F1 against F2.”
The difference in pace between Red Bull and Mercedes 😳 pic.twitter.com/mqO8e0s1qM
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) March 19, 2023
Ted added, “What Lewis is referring to is that he has never seen someone gain so much speed by using DRS. He doesn’t understand how this is possible.” Red Bull has had an enormous advantage over their competitors so far. And it looks like
Will Mercedes copy Red Bull’s concept?
Lewis Hamilton has been quite frustrated with the Mercedes W14 so far. The cars do not look like they can come close to matching the speeds of Red Bull and even the likes of Aston Martin and Ferrari.
The driver and his team principal Toto Wolff have written themselves off the championship this year. While his teammate George Russell claims it is impossible to steal a single race win from Red Bull this season.
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have claimed both poles and finished 1-2 in the opening two races. And it’s time the Silver Arrows pull up their sock and rework their concept.
Red Bull now have the same number of F1 wins as Lewis Hamilton since the team’s first race victory in 2009 🏆 pic.twitter.com/rM41KVoPct
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) March 20, 2023
While Wolff has claimed the team is working on a new concept, Ted Kravitz claims it’s absolutely necessary for the team. Especially after LEwis was left handicapped by Verstappen in the Saudi GP.
Kravitz commented, “There is lots of technical intrigue on Formula 1. Everyone has been looking at the Red Bull car and questioning how they are able to gain nearly 20 MPH advantage on the straight over anyone else?”
The Austrian team boss claims the team is ready to look into Red Bull’s concept if they have to. They are even ready to put their rival’s sticker on their car if they demand to do so.
