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Vowles: 'Red Bull dominance not whole season, Mercedes have a chance there'

Vowles: 'Red Bull dominance not whole season, Mercedes have a chance there'

18-03-2023 10:58 Last update: 13:41
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GPblog.com

Williams team boss and former Mercedes chief James Vowles does not believe the Red Bull Racing dominance will see every race this year. For the Saudi Arabia GP, he expects more challengers and Mercedes will also be able to offer opposition later in the year.

Vowles said he has serious doubts about Red Bull's dominance after the Bahrain Grand Prix. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez drove unchallenged to P1 and P2, but according to the Williams team boss, things will be different in Jeddah. Ferrari looks strong, according to the Briton, and will be a lot closer in Saudi Arabia. The threat will then only have to come from Carlos Sainz, as Charles Leclerc will first have to overcome his 10-place grid penalty.

Vowles believes Mercedes can sometimes challenge Red Bull

For the rest of the season, Vowles tips a notable team as Red Bull's challenger for some races. Mercedes do not seem to be in good form, but that does not take away from the fact that they can offer opposition to Red Bull Racing at certain races later in the year, according to Vowles. Formel1.de quotes the team boss: "[Mercedes has the chance to challenge Red Bull] at tracks like Silverstone and Barcelona."

At the moment, this does not seem a realistic scenario for Mercedes. Normally the team led by Toto Wolff is strong during the British and Spanish GPs, but it looks like Mercedes is in an even bigger crisis this year. Wolff announced that a very different W14 is on the way. Vowles, incidentally, thinks opposition from the other top teams will make little difference. After all, Red Bull is the fastest team and the favourite for the title.