F1: FIA President rules punishing Red Bull over Verstappen dominance
International Automobile Federation (FIA) President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has ruled out punishing Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing over the current dominance the Austrian team is enjoying.
Red Bull have enjoyed a perfect start to the 2023 season, winning all nine races so far, Verstappen taking seven of them and Sergio Perez the other two.
Verstappen has built up a massive 81-point lead over teammate Sergio Perez at the top of the drivers’ championship and looks well on course to claim a third consecutive world title.
There have been calls in some quarters for the FIA to clamp down on Red Bull’s dominance in order to make the sport more competitive. Ben Sulayem however says such a move would be unfair as other teams like Mercedes have been dominant in the past.
“If we go about what’s good and bad we’ll open the door. I mean, was it good for Mercedes? Fair enough?,” he said.
“It is [Verstappen’s] time, it’s Red Bull’s time. What do we do … punish the good kid? No, let’s go and make the other teams good.
“Nobody’s stopping the other teams from being better. We cannot punish people for being better, for trying harder. That is unfair.”
Silverstone calling… 📞😃 pic.twitter.com/UVmlu7iVyJ
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) July 6, 2023
F1 head to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix this weekend and another Red Bull victory would see the Milton Keynes outfit equal McLaren’s record of 11 straight race wins by a team.
