Despite Lewis Hamilton’s pessimistic outlook, 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve thinks Red Bull can be caught. The renowned British player has frequently expressed his belief that the current winners will not be defeated prior to the 2026 implementation of the technical regulation changes.
Red Bull has had a phenomenal year in 2023. Nine months after the Milton Keynes-based team’s RB19 appeared at the Bahrain season opener, the car has become a legendary part of Formula One history.
Red Bull led the entire 2023 season, and Lewis Hamilton was victorious only in the last laps.
Red Bull won 21 of the 22 Grands Prix that took place last season with Max Verstappen picking up 19 of those wins as he broke almost every record available en route to his third successive Drivers’ Championship title.
After a dismal showing for Mercedes at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton was left dejected. “Ultimately all I can do is try to remain optimistic,” he stated. “The Red Bull, I think, is so far away I think they’re probably going to be very clear for the next couple of years.”
Mercedes had far less to celebrate than their long-term rivals did in 2023. The Silver Arrows ended the campaign without a single win to their name, meaning they have claimed just one Grand Prix victory since Lewis Hamilton climbed onto the top step of the podium in Saudi Arabia back in 2021.
Even though Toto Wolff’s team finished the season second in the standings, Ferrari and McLaren are feeling more optimistic about their campaigns going into the winter break, and Mercedes will need to significantly improve their car concept if they want to close the gap with Red Bull.
However, Villeneuve isn’t convinced that Red Bull cannot be caught. “Red Bull is not that far ahead,” he told PlanetF1. “When they got all their poles, it was a tenth, half a tenth… super close. So that’s not domination. That’s not the years of Mercedes when they were a second ahead of everyone, and everybody was OK with that, there was not an issue.”
Rather, he thinks Verstappen is the one changing things, saying, “Max makes the difference because he’s at it 24 hours a day.” He never seems to tire. He still has racing on his mind as he exits the vehicle for the race car. That’s all there is to it. Maybe they could reach Max’s level if everyone had the same level of focus as Max.
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