Following Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, fans have been sharing their opinion on Max Verstappen’s breathtaking overtake on Mercedes’ George Russell, after the reigning world champion made the Mercedes look like an F2 car.
After starting 15th at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Verstappen quickly worked his way through the field and into the top three, after overtaking Russell for third just before the race hit halfway.
The Dutchman flew through the field thanks to his RB19’s unbeatable straight-line speed, which was further elevated upon activating DRS.
Verstappen’s overtake on Russell ahead of the final corner highlighted just how powerful Red Bull’s engine is, with Sky Sports F1 commentator having admitted that it was like watching “F1 against F2”.
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“WHAT?!” wrote Sky Sports F1 on Twitter.
“That looked like F1 against F2! Verstappen has since moved up into 2nd!”
The 25-year-old went on to overtake Fernando Alonso just as easily for second, with Red Bull having claimed a second consecutive 1-2 finish.
Not even a driveshaft failure in qualifying could stop Verstappen from finishing on the podium, with some fans having questioned how the Austrians have designed such an unstoppable car in the current aerodynamic era of the sport.
“In a season that the cars that now have to follow regulations designed to make the cars closer together in performance and more capable of racing closer together this shouldn’t be happening,” wrote @chapman_ryan on Twitter.
Another fan, @sBinnalla64 said: “With limits to testing and budget, I have officially bid farewell to my hopes for competition in F1 until 2026.”
Aston Martin are seemingly the closest challenger to Red Bull in terms of overall performance, but even Alonso finished almost 21 seconds behind race winner Sergio Pérez.
One fan believes Red Bull are set to have “the most dominant season in F1 history”, which is actually very difficult to argue with based on their current form.
“Yeah if they don’t have any long term mechanical problems then Red Bull are having the most dominant season in F1 history,” @K_ggMUFC wrote on Twitter.
“Even Perez is miles ahead of the field, this is no contest.”
Lewis Hamilton even commented after the race that he’s never seen “a car so fast” before in F1, with the seven-time world champion stating that Mercedes “were not that fast” during their dominant era from 2014-2021.
“I have definitely never seen a car so fast,” said Hamilton, as reported by Sky Sports F1.
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“When we were fast, we were not that fast. It is the fastest car I have seen, especially compared to the rest.
“I don’t know how, but he [Verstappen] came past me with some serious speed and I didn’t even bother to block him because there was a massive speed difference.
“Everyone wants to see a close battle, but it is the way it is. It is not my problem, it is not my fault.”