After a dramatic weekend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Ted Kravitz takes a closer look at the main topics of discussion as Red Bull’s blistering speed secured them the one-two.
After Sunday’s race, Lewis Hamilton said Red Bull’s merit in 2023 over the rest of Formula 1 was greater than anything Mercedes had achieved to achieve its record 8 consecutive constructors’ championships.
Hamilton finished fifth at Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, while Mercedes stayed off Red Bull’s pace, with Sergio Perez winning from pole position in Jeddah.
However, it was the sight of reigning world champion Max Verstappen’s effortless advance from 15th on the grid, overtaking Hamilton on the straights, that gave a true indication of his speed and for Kravitz, Hamilton is right in his stance that the existing RB19 is faster than any car we’ve seen in Formula 1.
“A, it’s true, Lewis Hamilton is right, and B, what he’s referring to is the ease with which Max Verstappen was able to overtake him directly the moment he opened his DRS,” Kravitz said.
“What Lewis is saying is that he’s never noticed anyone gaining so much speed when opening the DRS.
“He doesn’t understand how this is possible.
“There’s a lot of technical intrigue in Formula 1, a lot of people will look at the Red Bull and wonder how they’re able to gain almost 20 miles per hour with this directly than anyone else.
“Are they doing something with that rear wing that just causes the rear wing to stall, but also the floor and other aerodynamic elements around the car?
“I’m sure this will be the last technical intrigue in Formula 1 when we get to the next one in Australia. “
Not only was the paddock’s attention focused on Red Bull’s pace, but attention was also drawn to the dynamics between its two drivers.
Verstappen maintained his position at the top of the drivers’ championship by setting the fastest lap on the final lap of the race while both drivers actively communicated with their teams to ensure they achieved the best result imaginable.
Perez revealed his frustration at squandering the fastest lap bonus point with Verstappen, saying “different information” had been provided through Red Bull, indicating that tensions between the two team-mates could continue from 2022 onwards.
While Perez battled in the first two races to create a war with Verstappen, for Kravitz, if it all came down to the two for the title, Red Bull would “ultimately” back their world champion.
“He can make it competitive, but Red Bull is, in the end, Max Verstappen,” Kravitz added.
“Max Verstappen’s father, Jos Verstappen, was disappointed that Red Bull didn’t allow the drivers to race at the end.
“But Max is Red Bull’s precedent for the drivers’ championship, there’s no doubt about that. “
Fernando Alonso was third at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after Aston Martin effectively appealed its 10-second penalty after the race.
The Spaniard was first penalised by the stewards because a rear jack was in illegal contact with his car while serving a previous grid penalty.
After Aston Martin appealed, it accepted that touching the car while serving a penalty did not breach the rules on “working” on the car and “overall” Kravitz believes it is the right decision.
“He was given a penalty, but when he served it he wasn’t allowed to paint on the car,” Kravitz said.
“The remote operations center had noticed if the guy behind holding the rear jack had touched the car before the five-second penalty was served.
“At that point, they made the decision that there wasn’t a tricky position to overtake Aston Martin, who hadn’t touched the car, and even if I had, it was fine.
“But later on, another team that had something to win, rumoured to be Mercedes but not yet confirmed, complained and said we thought we wanted to look at this in more detail because the Sporting Advisory Committee (SAC) had said that maybe I just don’t touch the rear of the car with the rear jack.
“In the end, Aston Martin said no, the SAC had never said you couldn’t touch the car with the jack, it’s just that you couldn’t do any meaningful painting on it and there were many other cases where groups had touched the car with the jack.
“So in the end that means Alonso is in third place.
“It’s a tricky question because in the last race, for Esteban Ocon, a team member had touched the car with a five-second penalty and he had earned a 10-second penalty from that team member.
“So there’s a bit of inconsistency, but Aston Martin was able to show that the SAC record had shown that tying a cat doesn’t count.
“From a sporting point of view, it’s a small thing, it didn’t work out in the sporting sense.
“Alonso didn’t gain time thanks to a team member who put a jack on the back of his car, so I think overall, from a sporting point of view, it’s the right thing to do to check his third place.
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