1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes that Red Bull can be caught, despite the pessimistic attitude of Lewis Hamilton. The legendary Brit has regularly stated his opinion that the reigning champions won’t be beaten before the technical regulation changes come into effect in 2026.
2023 has been a sensational year for Red Bull. The Milton Keynes-based team turned up at the season opener in Bahrain with the RB19, and nine months later that car has been cemented into the F1 history books.
Red Bull won 21 of the 22 Grands Prix that took place last season with Max Verstappen picking up 19 of those wins as he broke almost every record available en route to his third successive Drivers’ Championship title.
After a dismal showing for Mercedes at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton was left dejected. “Ultimately all I can do is try to remain optimistic,” he stated. “The Red Bull, I think, is so far away I think they’re probably going to be very clear for the next couple of years.”
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Mercedes had far less to celebrate than their long-term rivals did in 2023. The Silver Arrows ended the campaign without a single win to their name, meaning they have claimed just one Grand Prix victory since Lewis Hamilton climbed onto the top step of the podium in Saudi Arabia back in 2021.
While Toto Wolff’s team did end the season second in the standings, Ferrari and McLaren both head into the winter break with a more positive feeling about their seasons, and Mercedes will need to drastically overhaul their car concept if they are to make considerable gains relative to Red Bull.
However, Villeneuve isn’t convinced that Red Bull cannot be caught. “Red Bull is not that far ahead,” he told PlanetF1. “When they got all their poles, it was a tenth, half a tenth… super close. So that’s not domination. That’s not the years of Mercedes when they were a second ahead of everyone, and everybody was OK with that, there was not an issue.”
Instead, he believes that it is Verstappen who is making the difference, adding: “Max makes the difference because he’s at it 24 hours a day. He’s never getting tired. He gets out for the race car, and he’s still thinking about racing. That’s all that exists. If they all focused like Max, then maybe they would be at Max’s level.”
