George Russell shrugs off Red Bull decline: "They've won 7 of the first 10 races!"
“They’ve won 7 of the first 10 races. It doesn’t look too difficult…”
George Russell has shrugged off questions about Red Bull’s decline in form, pointing out they’ve won seven of the opening 10 F1 races in 2024.
While Red Bull have won well over half of the races so far this year, Max Verstappen has had to work hard for them.
McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have all shown great pace at times in 2024, running Verstappen close on various occasions.
In the last race in Barcelona, it appeared McLaren had the fastest car in the hands of Lando Norris, but it was still Verstappen who came out on top.
It was a similar story in Canada, with McLaren having the edge in the wet conditions, while Mercedes arguably had a car capable of winning in the dry.
Just before that, Ferrari won in Monaco with Charles Leclerc, and in Imola, Norris finished just 0.7s behind Verstappen.
However, Russell was quick to play down questions around Red Bull’s dip in form.
Speaking to select media including Crash.net, when asked if he was surprised about Red Bull no longer dominating, he said: “They’ve won 7 of the first 10 races. It doesn’t look too difficult…”
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton offered a more insightful view into Red Bull’s perceived drop in performance.
Hamilton believes it was inevitable that Red Bull’s rivals would close in given the stability in the regulations.
Additionally, Red Bull being top of the championship standings means they get less wind tunnel time than their rivals - something Hamilton noted.
“Am I surprised? I wouldn’t say I am surprised,” Hamilton added. “It’s just the way the sport goes. We’re nearing the end of this generation of this cars. Often what happens it tails off in terms of performance, finding gains is harder.
“They’ve been leading for all these years. Also, they have less development time. It’s only natural that the rest of the teams slowly catch up. They’re still doing amazing.”
Red Bull have a 60-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ championship heading into this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
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