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Max Verstappen denied that the RB19 is the fastest F1 car, contrary to what his earlier competitor Lewis Hamilton had to say about the pace of the car after the race in Jeddah.
The 2023 season of Formula 1 is seeing yet another period of dominance by reigning world champions Red Bull. The RB19 is an extremely powerful competitor and it has been difficult for anyone on the grid to battle the car. Max Verstappen recently drove it to P2 from P15 during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
In the same race, he overtook Lewis Hamilton quite effortlessly. Many felt that the overtake was like between an F1 and an F2 car, given the pace difference, not to forget the brilliant battle both drivers shared in 2021.
Hamilton, driving the relatively uncompetitive W14, felt that the RB19 is the fastest car he had ever seen.
However, as Max Verstappen believes, the statement is not true as there have been much faster cars in the history of Formula 1, some of which Hamilton himself drove. Although the Dutchman is satisfied with the car's pace, he certainly believes there have been faster cars than the RB19.
"I think if you look at the statistics, those statements are not correct."
"But we also have a very good car. There is of course nothing wrong with that. Yet we are not as dominant as Mercedes has shown in some years."
Max Verstappen suggests all Mercedes can do is 'close the gap'
Before the era of Max Verstappen's domination kicked in last season, F1 was ruled by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, who won all the championships from 2014 to 2020. Verstappen feels that the team produced some of the fastest machinery on the grid at that point in time.
The German team has had yet another weak start to the season, and is thus focussed on the development and upgrade of the W14. Max Verstappen suggested that similar to what Red Bull did during Mercedes' domination, all they can do currently is try and close the gap, as RacingNews365 quoted him,
"Whatever we have done in the eight years that Mercedes is so dominant... We also tried to close the gap, that's all you can do."
The team showed signs of development during the Grand Prix in Australia, however, according to George Russell, they still have a 0.3-second gap to RB, which is huge. The Briton is expecting a lot of improvement in the car with the new spec of the W14, the W14B, and is also hoping to battle Verstappen and the team for wins.
