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Former F1 world champion Mika Häkkinen believes that Red Bull is “simply too strong at the moment” after taking its sixth consecutive victory at the 2022 Canadian GP last weekend. Through the team's recent dominance, Häkkinen felt that it has shown that its package can be competitive in all types of circuits.
In his column for Unibet, the Finn wrote:
“We did not have any doubt that Max [Verstappen] is in control of the championship before the weekend, and the result in Montreal confirms that Red Bull’s package is simply too strong at the moment.”
He went on to write:
“They have straight line speed, good balance and a car that Max can clearly work with on every type of circuit.”
Häkkinen believes that the RB18’s performance at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with its array of demands, is proof enough of its versatility.
After building an early lead over Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, Max Verstappen managed his race through several interruptions with ease, before fending off a late charge from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to further increase his lead in the championship.
This was crucial given his chief championship rival Charles Leclerc was busy charging through the grid after taking on new power unit components and starting from the back.
But despite securing a healthy points haul from Canada, Red Bull still endured reliability issues with Sergio Perez. The Mexican retired due to a power unit issue early in the race.
Such unreliability, according to Hakkinen, might end up costing the team in the future if they are not careful. He wrote:
“Reliability seems to be the only thing Max, Checo and the team need to worry about.”
He added:
“Once again we saw an issue in the race for Checo Perez. That must have made the team nervous, so the great result will have been a relief for them.”
Former Red Bull driver reveals the secret behind its success in 2022 F1 season
Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard believes that the team’s success so far in the 2022 F1 season lies in technical director Adrian Newey’s ability to develop a car using loopholes in the regulations.
Speaking to RacingNews365 over the Canadian GP weekend, he said:
“Adrian Newey is someone I’ve worked with; he always used to say [that] he reads the rules to see what they say, but more importantly, what they don’t say. And what they don’t say is where he designs, hoping for the loophole that gives him an advantage.”
He continued:
“If you only ever designed to this size and fits in that box, then how are you really ever going to outperform your competitors?”
The Red Bull RB18 is easily the strongest package on the 2022 grid; apart from a few reliability issues, all related to either the power unit or gearbox, the car has shown little to no weaknesses.
It will be interesting to see how it performs at the British GP next weekend.
