Red Bull’s dominant start to the 2023 season has certainly not made for the most thrilling of starts to an F1 season. Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez have won all five races between them.
Speaking about the domination of the Milton Keynes-based squad, Alonso rightly pointed out that this is nothing new.
“This is F1. It has been always like this. It’s been 7 years Hamilton and Bottas first and second, it has been in the past Vettel and Webber.”
Red Bull’s mighty speed on the straights has allowed Verstappen and Pérez to recover from qualifying problems this year.
The Dutchman recovered from P15 to P2 in Jeddah, before winning from 9th in Miami last time out. Pérez secured P5 in Melbourne after starting last following his crash in qualifying.
A lack of overtaking is something that has been regularly discussed throughout Alonso’s career, and he believes it can only occur when a rapid car is out of position.
“If you have the fastest car, you can start a little bit behind and you still maybe making some moves and overtakes, and if you are in any other cars — as I said we’re all within one tenth or whatever so — when you’re qualifying you’re still more or less securing that position, and there are not many overtakes after lap 2 or lap 3.
“You don’t see many overtakes, it’s the nature of F1. So it should not be a surprise.”
The two-time World Champion went on to explain how expectations of closer and more exciting racing have fallen short, at least for the moment.
“I think there were high expectations on following cars and maybe having the grid a little bit closer together.”
However, he thinks time is necessary to see how it truly works out.
“But I don’t know — I think we need to give a little bit more time.
“If we didn’t have the Red Bulls that much ahead, I think it’s a very interesting fight, with three or four teams within one or two tenths.”
The presence of a team collecting win after win overshadows the fight between those teams that are effectively providing a show. Should Red Bull be caught at some stage, Alonso believes the outlook on these current regulations could look different.
“And maybe we’re saying the new rules are a success, so maybe this is the story in a few years’ time or whatever when we have some stability in the rules — then maybe 2026, everything changes again.”
Photo Credit: Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team
