The scale of Max Verstappen’s early-season dominance will deplete Red Bull’s motivation to increase performance, according to F1 icon Damon Hill, who feels creating that appetite will be ‘tough’ for Christian Horner and the team’s other key figures as the year progresses.
Red Bull have cruised to consecutive one-two finishes in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to kick off the new year. Verstappen wiped the floor with his competitors, including team-mate Sergio Perez, in 2023, and he looks on course to do so again over the coming races.
The defending triple world champion won by a remarkable 22 seconds in Sakhir earlier this month and finished more than 13 seconds clear of Perez in Jeddah last weekend.
While beating Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren is impressive, 1996 world champion Hill believes it offers a ‘tough’ problem to address in terms of achieving mid-season advances.
It’s fantastic to have a one-two to start the season and the Constructors’ Championship, so the team is happy,” he told F1 Nation. “The odd thing is, it’s pretty tough to elicit that striving emotion.
“When you come second or you get beaten, you don’t like it, so you want to change that situation. There’s a lot of motivation to change.
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