Toto Wolff praised his team's Red Bull rivals as he rejected the notion of complaining about the potential of a one-sided Formula 1 season.
Red Bull are clearly a long way ahead of any of their rivals in terms of car performance in the early stages of this 2023 campaign. Their drivers have finished first and second in both races so far with no-one else able to even come close to matching their pace.
It has led to complaints from fans and pundits alike that the year ahead could be dull with no real competition to Red Bull. Other teams will inevitably close the performance gap as the season progresses, though it is likely to be too late for them to stop the defending champions.
Team boss Christian Horner is not getting too carried away, and said after the victory in Jeddah: "Life is never that simple and I'm sure that upgrades are going to be coming through thick and fast as we progress through the season, so I fully expect there to be competition as we progress through the season.
"But we've got a great car, the team have done an amazing job, and it's important we try and capitalise on that early on, because we know that the development will come with the others later into the year."
Mercedes chief Wolff rarely shies away from an opportunity to criticise his rival Horner. In January, he renewed their war of words by labelling the Red Bull boss "obsessed" and asserted that he is "living in his head rent-free".
But after Sunday's race the Austrian turned down the chance to complain about Red Bull's dominance, perhaps knowing that it might be slightly hypocritical given how successful his Mercedes team was during their run of eight-straight constructors' championship wins.
"We have had those years where we were as strong, but it is a meritocracy," said Wolff. "We shouldn't talk it down because I remember hearing voices like that between 2014 and 2020. What makes the sport so special is that you need to work hard to win, and you deserve it, and that is matter of fact.
"Even if it is not great for the show that the same guys win all the time, it is because they have done a good job and we haven't. We all hope for good entertainment and it is our duty to catch up and fight these guys.
"We will do everything in our power to fight back and we will look at areas of weakness that they may have. Entertainment follows sport and that [Red Bull's dominance] is maybe not good for the commercial side but it is what makes Formula 1 so special."
