"The bar is set very high": Mercedes chief claims Red Bull still the team to beat in 2023 F1 season

Former Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug believes that Red Bull are still the team to chase in the 2023 F1 season.

Though a new season gives all the teams some time to work more on their cars and improve, the Austrian-British team still looks the strongest after the first day of testing in Bahrain.

According to PlanetF1, Haug explained how Red Bull had already created an extremely strong car during the second half of the 2022 F1 season. Hence, their only job was to make small incremental performance gains for the 2023 F1 season. Moreover, Max Verstappen remains consistent and has set the bar high for other drivers, even for Lewis Hamilton. The former Mercedes chief said:

“Red Bull had the best car to build on in the second half of the 2022 season. And Max Verstappen, who was extremely strong last year, will not get worse. The bar is set very high for the others.”

Of course, Mercedes will suffer the most from Red Bull's dominance, as they are the ones trying to get back into the championship fight. Since Ferrari also have a decent car from last year, the Silver Arrows will have to make their car work this season in order to get anywhere near the top team.

Mercedes continued to stick with their zero-sidepod concept as they entered the 2023 F1 season, trying to unleash a performance that they believe the car has had since last season.

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Mercedes team boss happy with the new 2023 F1 car after the first day of pre-season testing

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was quite happy with the first day of the 2023 F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain. Last season, their car suffered from porpoising, which drastically reduced its performance. However, their new 2023 F1 car did not have any bounce and was quite stable.

Speaking after the first day of testing, Toto Wolff was happy and explained how the team needed to provide a good car for drivers to win races and championships, saying:

“You need to provide a good car for a driver that has the ambition to win races and championships and we have that. We want to win. At this stage last year, we knew we were in trouble because the car was bouncing around and we were not able to drive it correctly. But today, it is very different."

He added:

"The car seems to be balanced in the right way. There is no bouncing which is good news. It is a good starting point. We have had a productive morning.”

Lewis Hamilton will be chasing his record-breaking eighth world title in the 2023 F1 season. Many F1 fans and pundits believe that if Mercedes improves their car, the British driver will be able to reclaim the championship.