“He’d know too well from his team…”: Red Bull boss hits back at George Russell’s ‘sandbagging’ claim

Christian Horner, Red Bull's team principal, has responded to George Russell's accusations that the Austrian team is 'sandbagging' to hide performance from the FIA.

After Red Bull's 100 percent winning start to F1 2023 at the Australian Grand Prix, Russell stated that the team was "almost embarrassed" to unleash their full speed. George Russell and teammate Lewis Hamilton both briefly led the race in Melbourne on Sunday as they attempted to push Max Verstappen to victory.

The Dutch driver, on the other hand, recovered from a bad start to clinch another predicted victory. He used Red Bull's superior straight-line speed to glide past Hamilton once he was inside DRS range.

Horner was quick to respond to George Russell's statement following the race. He also took a jab at Mercedes' own reign of F1 dominance between 2014 and 2020.

Horner responded to the bold comments during an episode on the Chequered Flag podcast, saying:

“That’s very generous of him. He’d know too well from his team about those kinds of advantages. There’s always an element of management that goes on in any race. Because it was a one-stop race and a very early one-stop race, of course there was an element of tyre management going on.”

Verstappen also denied George Russell's suggestion, claiming that Red Bull is not purposefully holding back. He said:

"I think anyway, there’s nothing really they [the FIA and F1] can do, I mean, we just try to do the best we can with the development of the car, but it’s also about pace management."

Red Bull have already dominated the 2023 season after only three races. They finished first and second in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen won the thrilling Australian Grand Prix, while Sergio Perez finished fifth despite starting 20th in the pit lane.

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George Russell lashes out against Mercedes after being 'attacked' by Lewis Hamilton at the Australian Grand Prix

In the initial stages of the Australian Grand Prix, George Russell yelled at his Mercedes crew as he fought to hold teammate Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at bay.

Pole-sitter Verstappen got off to a bad start and was soon jumped by Russell. The world champion then took additional caution entering turn three, allowing Hamilton to attack down the inside and take second place.

Russell was unable to escape his pursuers, with Hamilton and Verstappen's Red Bull close behind. With the Albert Park race being a one-stop race, tyre management was important. At one point, Russell was advised to control his speed by his engineer, during which, he lashed out at the engineer. He said:

“You're asking me to manage and I'm being attacked by my team-mate!”

Soon after the exchange, the race was red-flagged, offering drivers who hadn't stopped a free stop after pitting under a safety car period. This pushed Russell down the field. But, shortly after the restart, his Mercedes engine caught fire, requiring him to swiftly escape from the car.