Carlos Sainz Jnr says Red Bull’s domination of Formula 1 is an inevitable part of the sport.
The Ferrari driver, who arrived in F1 through Red Bull’s junior team Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri), insisted the team deserves its success. Sergio Perez’s victory at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Sunday was the team’s 12th win from the last 13 races.
“I’ve never been a fan of being concerned of one team dominating,” said Sainz. “Because if they are, they’ve done such a good job, they deserve it.
“I mean, I wish it was us. And then I would get really angry if people were concerned that we are walking over Formula 1.”
Max Verstappen admitted after Sunday’s race the championship is likely to be fought between him and Perez. Sainz agrees the other drivers are unlikely to join in the fight for this year’s title.
“Unfortunately, this is a cars’ sport more than a drivers’,” he said. “We know that makes a difference more, although Red Bull has a very strong line-up, obviously.
“But if a car is really good, all the other drivers cannot do much to stay in that fight. It is the nature of Formula 1 and we’ve seen it in the past, it’s nothing new. The recovery from Max from 15th proves that they’re in another league.”
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Verstappen started 15th after a driveshaft problem halted him in qualifying. However he was easily able to rise through the field to finish second.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says the fight between his two drivers could make for an entertaining season.
“We saw a great race again at the weekend between our two drivers,” he told Sky. “And if you do have two dominant cars, if those two cars are racing each other, then I think that does create a spectacle in itself.”
However he believes it will not take their rivals long to regroup.
“I have no doubt that the opposition are going to be coming back quickly and aggressively,” said Horner. “Especially as we come back into the European season where they start to come through.
“We’re hearing about big Mercedes upgrades. I’m sure Ferrari are happy with their current position as well. So, you know, we’re fully expecting things to converge quickly once we get back into Europe.”
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