Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner says that he is flattered by Lewis Hamilton’s comments regarding the pace of the RB19.
The Milton Keynes-based squad has showed strong speed at the start of the 2023 campaign, with its rivals unable to challenge it in the opening rounds.
At round two in Jeddah, Verstappen’s charge through the field prompted seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton to claim that he has “never seen a car so fast” during his time in Formula 1.
When asked to respond to the comment, Horner said: “Well, it’s obviously very flattering, particularly considering some of the cars that Lewis has driven in recent history, but, you know, we’ve got a great car.
“RB19 is a fantastic starting point for the season for us and to have achieved two 1-2 finishes in the first two races is more than we could have ever expected coming into this season.
“But we’re conscious it’s a very long season, there’s still 21 races to go and six Sprint races, and we’re conscious that big updates are coming for others in coming weeks as we head back to Europe. So there’s still a lot to do and an awfully long way to go.”
At the opening two rounds, Red Bull managed two 1-2 finishes, two pole positions and one fastest lap. Max Verstappen followed up with another win in Melbourne, while Sergio Perez recovered to a fifth-place finish after an early qualifying exit.
The team has managed to claim 123 points at the opening three rounds of 2023 with closest rivals Aston Martin sitting 58 points behind in the Constructors’ standings.
Asked whether he had expected Red Bull to posses such an advantage to the rest of the field, Horner said: “At times, in all honesty, yes. We see that some teams have made a step forward and some haven’t.
“But that’s going to change from circuit to circuit, venue to venue. And I’ve always said it’s going to take, you know, three or four races to get a real pattern as to what is the actual form book for the season.”
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