Red Bull have dominated the 2023 season, with either Verstappen or team-mate Sergio Perez winning each race. The Dutchman has four race wins to his name already this season, and will start in pole position in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Hamilton and Russell have struggled to get to grips with Mercedes’ W14 car this year. Both are enduring a repeat of 2022’s poor start, with Hamilton’s podium finish in Australia the only time this year either have finished in the top three.
Mercedes team principal Wolff has revealed it winds him up that Verstappen is so far ahead of his own driver duo. The Austrian conceded that Formula One is a ‘meritocracy’ and the onus is on Mercedes to spark a revival.
“I think Verstappen is just on a different level. It p***** me off to say that but that is the reality,” Wolff said after Spanish Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.
“There is a meritocracy, [Red Bull] have just done the best job, the driver’s driving excellent and they are just far away. And that is something which only we have in our hands to get under control.”
The view could rile Hamilton, who came to blows with Verstappen several times in an infamous 2021 campaign. A fierce rivalry between the pair brewed as they battled for the Championship, with the Red Bull ace controversially coming out on top.
Hamilton will start the Spanish Grand Prix in P4 on Sunday, but team-mate Russell was handed a ‘formal warning’ after a crash with his colleague in Q2. The 24-year-old was forced to take the blame for a collision with Hamilton on the start line straight.
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