Miami Grand Prix: drivers deny Red Bull success is ruining F1, while Mercedes make Lewis Hamilton contract vow
- Red Bull’s dominance has fuelled talk of a boring season, but the likes of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton insist they are working hard to challenge
- Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confident of agreeing extension with seven-time champion Hamilton, whose deal expires at end of this season
Red Bull rolled into the first of Formula One’s three stops in the United States undefeated and the team’s challengers already waving the checkered flag on the championship.
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have been so strong through the first four races that rival drivers have openly wondered whether any other team will win a race this year.
Boring? That is the narrative that followed F1 to the Miami Grand Prix, a highly anticipated event a year ago when it debuted but now working through a bit of a hangover.
With F1 races scheduled later this year for Austin, Texas, and Las Vegas, the early Red Bull dominance has created the perception that F1 will have a snoozer of a season that could dull the growing American interest.
“What if you go to the cinema and after 15 minutes the movie is [poor], but the last hour-and-a-half is amazing?” asked Alpine driver Pierre Gasly. “I don’t think it’s fair to already make such a claim. I think you need to give the season more time.”
