F1: Red Bull’s Hungary upgrade reopened its gap to the wannabes

Red Bull brought their last big upgrade for 2023 to the Hungarian GP and widened the performance gap to the wannabe teams sucking their exhaust fumes.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The fact that an energy drink company is beating the pants off all the so-called car manufacturing giants has to be a thorn in their side.

How do you explain to your customers your cars are inferior to a $2 can of Red Bull?

Toto Wolff, Team boss at Mercedes, said, “I think with the last step of upgrade, it seems they [Red Bull] have another advantage that they were able to exploit.”

“It is what it is, and I often say that it’s a meritocracy and it’s up to us to fight back. Did we expect that gap? Certainly not.

“I think with the last step of upgrade, it seems they have another advantage that they that were able to exploit.

“But again, it always gets me back to the point of we have just got to dig in and do the best possible job.”

Max Verstappen’s dominance with Red Bull has made it difficult for the Silver Arrows to stomach no longer being the F1’s team to beat, with Hamilton failing to win a race since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021.

It must keep Toto Wolff up late at night chewing antacids and throwing headsets.

Maybe that is why Christian Horner is smiling so much of late.