Russell distraught: 'Even without rear wing top speed lower than Red Bull'

Red Bull Racing is dominant in 2023. The RB19 seems to have few weaknesses but does have some notable strengths, including top speed. George Russell argues that even if Mercedes runs without a rear wing, his team is slower than Red Bull on the straights.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have won all five races together so far, scoring even a one-two on four occasions of these. The Dutchman had to start further back in the field a couple of times but came forward remarkably quickly each time. This is partly due to the RB19's high top speed, which makes overtaking a lot easier.

The Red Bull is untouchable when it comes to straight-line speed, especially with DRS open. Russell also observes this and does not know where this huge advantage for the Austrian team comes from, but praises the work Red Bull has done for this.

"We believe we could take the rear wing fully off, and Red Bull would still be quicker than us on the straights, and that's not even a joke. So we don't understand what they're doing. They've clearly done something incredible and kudos to them for whatever they've done to achieve this straightline performance," the Mercedes driver told Motorsport.com.