Haas team principal Gunther Steiner doesn’t believe that Formula 1 needs to change the rules and regulations in order to stop Red Bull from dominating the rest of the grid, claiming that their advantage will lessen as the season progresses.
Red Bull have been head and shoulders above the rest so far in 2023 and have watched their drivers win all opening three races, also finishing 1-2 in each of the first two, even while Max Verstappen has continually complained of issues with his RB19 challenger.
Aston Martin have so far looked the only team capable of threatening to disrupt their dominance with both Ferrari and Mercedes struggling for any real pace, but even the Silverstone-based team are still unable to consistently match the frontrunners so far.
Despite the dominance, Steiner is confident that the gap will close to the top throughout the season and insists that the rules do not need to be changed in order to rein in the defending champions.
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Steiner told Motorsport.com that the sport is the priority: “The show is secondary, but I think it will sort itself out and then still we have got a good race going on in the front now with Checo and Max, that doesn’t seem to be without sparks, without show.
“There is some show element in that one now. But I’m not worried that other people will catch up.”
He added, stating that the current rules ‘work’ and explaining why he doesn’t feel changes are necessary: “Obviously at the moment Red Bull has an advantage, but I wouldn’t say they’ll keep that advantage now for the next 20 races.
“I’m not so sure about that because everybody will catch up, and hopefully we find out how Red Bull came to this advantage and we can copy it, or do something similar.”
The Haas boss also referred to Red Bull’s wind tunnel time in comparison to others, suggesting that they ‘cannot move a lot ahead anymore in theory’ as a result before stating they worked hard to establish their advantage at the top.
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“They did a fantastic job. And therefore, you cannot blame the regulations for that. Because if somebody does a better job than anybody else, they should get the advantage.”
After a difficult few seasons, Haas have found a level of consistency and currently sit seventh in the Constructor Standings, with the midfield battle this season looking to be tighter than ever.
Nico Hulkenberg capitalised on the chaos of the Australian Grand Prix to claim an impressive P7 finish, bringing in six points for the team as a result.