Photo: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Back in 2011, when Red Bull was just getting warmed up as a Formula One team, Lewis Hamilton famously dismissed their chances of ever competing with the likes of Ferrari or McLaren, going as far as to call them “just a drinks company.”
Red Bull went on to dominate the early 2010s, winning four consecutive double world titles thanks to Sebastian Vettel’s efforts. Of course, when the V6 hybrid era began in 2014, it was Mercedes that leapfrogged everyone else.
Today, things look a bit different, with Red Bull once again back on top, followed closely by Ferrari and then Mercedes at a distance. When asked by Motorsport what he thought about Max Verstappen’s performance in 2022, Hamilton chose instead to praise Red Bull as a team.
“It’s more [about being] impressed with Adrian Newey and his team. I think the team [Red Bull], they’ve generally had really great cars for some time. They used to have a really high ride height and had more drag than before.”
“I think they’ve realized [and] experienced this year that their engine actually isn’t slower than others and it was more that they had a lot more drag in the previous years. And they’ve done a fantastic job.”
Hamilton then went: “Anything I would’ve said in the past about the team, I didn’t mean it in a negative way. I think years ago I said something about them being a drinks company – or something like that. And it was really just highlighting that you would bet on a car manufacturer more so, but they’ve proved me wrong and everyone. And they’ve done a great job.”
The Mercedes driver also pointed out how Adrian Newey did his thesis on ground effect cars early in his life, so it should come as no surprise that Red Bull look dominant this year under the new regulations.
Today, things look a bit different, with Red Bull once again back on top, followed closely by Ferrari and then Mercedes at a distance. When asked by Motorsport what he thought about Max Verstappen’s performance in 2022, Hamilton chose instead to praise Red Bull as a team.
“It’s more [about being] impressed with Adrian Newey and his team. I think the team [Red Bull], they’ve generally had really great cars for some time. They used to have a really high ride height and had more drag than before.”
“I think they’ve realized [and] experienced this year that their engine actually isn’t slower than others and it was more that they had a lot more drag in the previous years. And they’ve done a fantastic job.”
Hamilton then went: “Anything I would’ve said in the past about the team, I didn’t mean it in a negative way. I think years ago I said something about them being a drinks company – or something like that. And it was really just highlighting that you would bet on a car manufacturer more so, but they’ve proved me wrong and everyone. And they’ve done a great job.”
The Mercedes driver also pointed out how Adrian Newey did his thesis on ground effect cars early in his life, so it should come as no surprise that Red Bull look dominant this year under the new regulations.
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