Red Bull's hopes of securing a second straight constructors' title appear bright following Lewis Hamilton's latest comments on their car in the wake of Sunday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion had a direct battle with Max Verstappen after the reigning champion battled his way from 15th on the grid to finished second in Jeddah. Sergio Perez scored his first win of the season as Red Bull earned another one-two, already accruing more than twice the points tally of second-place Aston Martin in the constructors' standings.
And Mercedes star Hamilton didn't spare any praise in his assessment of the RB19 after the result, praising Red Bull's latest design as the 'fastest he's seen' in 17 seasons. The car was so quick, in fact, that the Briton didn't see much point in trying to prevent long-time rival Verstappen from overtaking him when the time came.
"I have definitely never seen a car so fast," declared Hamilton after finishing fifth for the second time in as many races this year. "When we were fast, we were not that fast. It is the fastest car I have seen, especially compared to the rest.
"I don't know how, but he [Verstappen] came past me with some serious speed and I didn't even bother to block him because there was a massive speed difference. Everyone wants to see a close battle, but it is the way it is. It is not my problem, it is not my fault."
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It would appear Hamilton, 38, is eyeing another campaign without a serious title challenge after completing his first winless season in 2022. Verstappen, meanwhile, is eyeing a third straight F1 title after he and Perez have made dream starts this year.
The Silver Arrows icon recently came under fire for publicly suggesting his team "didn't listen" to his critiques of the W13 design last year. It's been theorised Mercedes missed out by prioritising reliability over power prior to the power unit development freeze, which prevents them from making performance changes to their engines until 2026 (alongside Ferrari, Renault and Honda).
The gulf in those gains has been apparent early on in 2023, with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff referring to the Bahrain Grand Prix result as "one of the worst days in racing." George Russell was initially promoted to third in Saudi Arabia on Sunday following Fernando Alonso's penalty, but an appeal saw the Aston Martin man reinstated on the podium.
"I still don't have the confidence with the car, but I am doing the best I can with it," Hamilton continued. "I struggled in qualifying so I am pleased to turn it into a positive and George got a great result and some good points for the team."
While it may be early days in the new campaign, Red Bull appear to be operating in another sphere after finishing more than a second-per-lap faster than their peers. Russell suggested after Sakhir that the reigning champions would win every race this season, and a 100 per cent sweep of the schedule remains on the cards.
