Former Red Bull F1 driver Mark Webber believes that the Austrian team “has an answer for anything at the moment” and expects it to continue dominating the championship for the rest of the 2022 F1 season. Given the RB18’s versatility in race trim, Webber felt that Max Verstappen could potentially “wrap up” the title within the next three races.
Speaking to the Guardian during the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Australian said:
“Red Bull will continue to dominate this championship. They have a car that is very good on downforce levels, on all compounds of tyre. It’s like a tennis player on all surfaces or a golfer on all holes, short, long, chipping, putting, driving, it can do everything.”
He added, saying:
“They have pretty much an answer for anything at the moment, Max [Verstappen] could wrap it up with three races to go.”
The Milton Keynes-based outfit recovered from a poor start to the season to claw back their deficit against Ferrari and take over the lead in both championships. Despite Charles Leclerc’s dominance in qualifying, Max Verstappen has easily outmatched the former in race trim.
Out of the nine rounds so far, Verstappen has won six, while his teammate Sergio Perez has won once. Ferrari, despite taking pole six times, have only managed two wins so far.
Despite all its strengths, the F1-75 seems to be lacking in straight-line speed and tire durability compared to the RB18. The Scuderia has been hard at work finding solutions to these issues and has since introduced a new lower drag/lower downforce wing to improve top speed.
Red Bull RB18 “already favouring” Max Verstappen over teammate Sergio Perez
Mark Webber believes the Red Bull RB18 is “already favouring” Max Verstappen compared to teammate Sergio Perez, despite the latter’s improved performances this season.
Pointing to Verstappen’s superior race pace, Webber believes the Dutchman will “find a way” to accumulate more points across the season than Perez might be able to. Hey said:
“I like Sergio [Perez] a lot but over the course of the season, over time, Max will just find a way to start accumulating bigger points.”
Webber added, saying:
“In Azerbaijan, Max drove away down the road, it was a very emphatic victory. Then in Canada, it’s raining, it’s dry, it’s cold, it’s tricky and Max all weekend was phenomenal.”
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Compared to the 2021 season, Sergio Perez has been much closer to Max Verstappen this season, especially in single-lap pace. The Mexican has attributed his improved form to the RB18 being more suited to his driving style.
