Before starting the tour of Europe, the Red Bull team has to solve the technical problems with the RB18 car, because in Australia, they were overtaken in the Constructors’ Classification by Ferrari and Mercedes. True, it is only the third race of the circuit, but all the points that can be achieved now will be the yearning for the last dates of the season.
Checo Pérez was the ovation of Red Bull when taking the podium in second place in Australia. He means the number 16 of his career and the sixth with the Austrian team. One of the most outstanding videos of the Formula 1 networks was when he passed Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) on lap 23. The atmosphere was the best in Melbourne, a venue that had a historic attendance, with 419,114 fans during the four days of the event. .
And finally, to go upstairs to celebrate with champagne, Checo was 20 seconds behind first place Charles Leclerc. In motorsport it is a considerable distance because it was not the driver’s responsibility, but the tire wear.
“I am not satisfied with the weekend. I think we made a mistake in the direction we took with the car and this hurt us a bit (…) The Red Bull driver has accentuated the lack of speed of the RB18 compared to the F1-75 in Australia: “Ferrari has been much superior us. At no time were we able to put pressure on them. There is a lot of work to do (…) It has been a good result, without a doubt. But it’s been a shame to lose Max. They were good points for the team,” he said.
It has not been the first overtake of the Mexican against Hamilton, memorable moments have already been recognized, among them, in the 2021 Brazilian GP, where the battle was won by the seven-time F1 champion. Checo did it during lap 18, in a season that he was signing (at that time) as the best of his career. In March of this year, at the Bahrain GP, a race that the Mexican had to leave due to an engine problem, it also gave him one of the best moments, because in the qualifying session, Checo overtook Hamilton.
“Fighting with Lewis is always fun, he always fights hard and we have good races together,” Checo said in Australia.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen was expressing his frustration at the fuel leak in the car. He retired from his second Grand Prix in three races at Melbourne, stopping on lap 39 of 58.
“We are already miles apart. I don’t even want to think about the championship fight right now. I think it’s more important to finish the races. Of course today was generally a bad day again, I just didn’t have the pace, I was just managing my tyres, trying to get it to the end because it looked like a pretty easy P2 anyway,” said Max.
Team boss Helmut Marko has repeatedly commented this season that F1’s new car rules make it impossible to fight for a World Championship. The weight of the RB18 is up to 15kg above the FIA minimum limit of 798kg. Changes have also been complicated by budget cap restrictions. Red Bull must continue to clarify what is happening, so as not to let go of the throne at the end of the championship.