F1: Red Bull car not as dominant as unbeatable Hamilton’s Mercedes was – Hill

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill feels that Red Bull’s domination this season does not compare with the kind of domination that Mercedes had at the start of the turbo hybrid era.

When asked during the telecast on Sky Sports whether Red Bull’s domination this season can be compared to what Mercedes had in the first few years of the turbo hybrid era, Hill felt that this was certainly not the case. He said:

“It’s (Red Bull) not quite as dominant as Mercedes were in the shift to the hybrid era. They (Mercedes) were so dominant that they had to kind of underplay it a bit because otherwise people would have ganged up on them.”

“Ferrari weren’t too far away from them at the end. We don’t know how much more they have in hand, but they were pretty close, and also in Brazil last weekend you had Mercedes being competitive in a different set of circumstances.”

A good portion of Lewis Hamilton’s record 103 wins was when no other team had a chance of beating either him or his teammate.  Hamilton only had to beat his teammate.

Now that the Mercedes is no longer unbeatable, Hamilton is very beatable and in fact his new teammate, George Russell, beat him in his very first year. Russell finished 4th in the final point standings and Hamilton only 6th. In addition Russell had a pole (Hungary) and two race wins (Brazil Sprint and Feature races) and Hamilton had none.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner was in a buoyant mood after the race and attributed the success to the entire team that was responsible for the amazing season. He said:

“What a year to have been sitting here having won 17 races, two sprint races and five 1-2 finishes, constructors championship and the drivers championship. We ended oh so close to second in the drivers. It’s been an amazing year. All the hard work going on behind the scenes and the people you don’t see that have put a herculean effort into this championship. It’s been immense.”

“We’ve had the odd lump or bump over the season, but what we have achieved this season has surpassed what we could have imagined. We went through that pain after a dominant 2013, and with the change of regs in 2014 we were nowhere but we never lost belief and people’s heads dropped.”

“A lot of people are with us from 2013 and there are a few people that have joined since then. Everyone has focused on that goal of winning the championship. We did it last year and we’ve gone a step further to win the constructors and it’s a testament to all the hard work after 8 long years [of Mercedes dominance].”

“I think last year took every ounce out of energy from everyone in the team and I don’t think anyone of us in the team to have experienced before, and this year there has been highs and lows and issues to deal with. The biggest issue was the loss of our founder Dietrich.”

“Formula 1 was his love and he gave so many drivers a chance and us all a chance. To have won this constructors championship, we dedicate it to him for what he has done for us.”