Wolff compares Red Bull dominance: 'That's not the case now'

Toto Wolff has seen Red Bull Racing take another giant step with the updates brought to Budapest. Mercedes is at a loss as both Mercedes drivers were downgraded by Max Verstappen in both races. Team boss Wolff knows there is work to be done, but also states without saying it in so many words: it is a pity that Sergio Perez cannot challenge his teammate.

Wolff is not so sure whether Red Bull's current dominance is comparable to the years when Mercedes drove lonely at the head of the field. "But at least we had two cars that were fighting each other," the Mercedes team boss revealed to Autosport.com and others after the Belgian GP won by Max Verstappen. "So that caused a little bit of entertainment for everyone, and that's not the case at the moment."

Hungary updates provide big lead

Red Bull introduced the necessary updates in Hungary and with them the RB19 proved even faster than it already was. The competition, including Mercedes, seemed to have narrowed the gap just a little, but since the weekend at the Hungaroring they can start all over again. Wolff did not expect the difference between the RB19 and the W14 to be that big. Verstappen started from P6 eventually finished 50 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton. A margin of more than a second per lap.

The good news for Mercedes is that Red Bull will not come up with any more major updates this year, the bad news: at Milton Keynes, the focus after the summer break goes all the way to 2024 and so it is not inconceivable that the Austrians will start next season with a lead again.

Will the RB19 continue to win?

Meanwhile, Red Bull will continue to do everything it can to continue its run of 13 wins in a row. Is it possible for Verstappen and Sergio Perez to win all races in 2023? “If you think logical, then no [because a lot of things can go wrong during a single race weekend]. But we never thought that we could win the first 12 races as well, so why not now I have to say", said Wolff.