Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz believes Lewis Hamilton is correct that the Red Bull is the fastest car ever seen in Formula 1; He also believes Fernando Alonso deserved his podium; watch the Australian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 between March 31 and April 2
Tuesday 21 March 2023 06:06, UK
After a dramatic weekend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Ted Kravitz takes a closer look at all the biggest talking points as Red Bull's blistering pace secured them another one-two finish....
After Sunday's race, Lewis Hamilton said Red Bull's 2023 advantage over the rest of the Formula 1 field is greater than anything Mercedes managed during their record run of eight successive constructors' championships.
Hamilton finished fifth in Sunday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as Mercedes remained well off the pace of Red Bull, Sergio Perez winning from pole position in Jeddah.
However, it was the sight of reigning world champion Max Verstappen's effortless advance through the field from 15th on the grid, flying past the likes of Hamilton on the straights, that gave a true indication of just how fast they are and for Kravitz, Hamilton is correct in his position that the current RB19 is faster than any car we have ever seen in Formula 1.
"A, it is, Lewis Hamilton is right, and B, what he is referring to is the ease at which Max Verstappen was able to pass him on the straight the moment he opened his DRS," said Kravitz.
"What Lewis is saying is he had never seen someone gain quite so much speed by opening the DRS.
"He doesn't understand how this is possible.
"There is lots of technical intrigue on Formula 1, lots of people will be looking at the Red Bull and saying how are they able to gain nearly 20 miles an hour advantage on that straight than anyone else?
"Are they doing something with that rear wing that not only stalls out the rear wing but stalls out the floor and other aerodynamics around the car?
"So, that will be I am sure the latest round of technical intrigue in Formula 1 when we get to the next round in Australia."
Not only was there attention from around the paddock on Red Bull's pace, but the dynamic between their two drivers also caught the eye.
Verstappen held onto his place at the top of the drivers' championship by taking the fastest lap on the final lap of the race as both drivers communicated heavily with their teams to ensure they were getting the best possible result.
Perez did reveal his frustration at losing the bonus point for the fastest lap to Verstappen, saying "different information" was given by Red Bull, indicating that flare ups between these two team-mates could be something that continue on from 2022.
While Perez has fought hard during the first couple of races to create a battle with Verstappen, for Kravitz, if it were to go down to the wire between the two for the title, Red Bull would "ultimately" back their world champion.
"He can make it competitive, but Red Bull is ultimately behind Max Verstappen," Kravitz added.
"Max Verstappen's dad, Jos Verstappen, was disappointed that Red Bull weren't allowing the drivers to race at the end.
"But Max is Red Bull's focus for the drivers' championship, no question about it."
Fernando Alonso was confirmed in third place at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after Aston Martin successfully appealed his post-race 10-second penalty.
The Spaniard was initially punished when stewards decided a rear jack was illegally in contact with his car when he was serving an earlier penalty for a grid box infringement.
After Aston Martin appealed, it was agreed that touching the car while serving a penalty did not break rules on "working" on the car and "on balance", Kravitz believes it was the correct decision.
"He got a penalty, but when you serve a penalty, you are not allowed to do any work on the car," said Kravitz.
"The remote operations centre had seen whether the guy at the back holding the rear jack had actually touched the car before the five-second penalty was served.
"At the time, they had decided that there was no real hard place to go with Aston Martin, that he hadn't touched the car, and even if he had, it was OK.
"But then later on, another team that had something to gain, the rumour is Mercedes but that is unconfirmed, complained and said we think you need to take a further look at this because the Sporting Advisory Committee (SAC) had said maybe you can't touch the back of the car with the rear jack.
"At the end Aston Martin said no, the SAC had never said that you can't touch the car with the jack, it is just you can't do any meaningful work on it and there had been lots of other instances where teams had touched the car with the jack.
"So, that in the end meant Alonso was confirmed in his third place.
"It is a difficult question because the previous race for Esteban Ocon, a team member had touched the car within the five-second penalty period and he had been given a 10-second penalty for the team member doing that.
"So, there is a little bit of inconsistency but Aston Martin were able to show that the minutes of the SAC had shown it doesn't count if you attach a jack.
"In a sporting way, it is a little thing, it didn't affect the outcome in a sporting sense.
"Alonso didn't gain any time by a team member attaching a jack to the back of his car so I think on balance, in a sporting way, it was the right thing to do to confirm his third place finish."
Watch the Australian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 between March 31 and April 2. Get Sky Sports
