Valtteri Bottas is ‘concerned’ by what the Stake F1 Team Sauber driver saw from Max Verstappen and Red Bull over the Bahrain GP and the Saudi Arabian GP to start 2024.
The new season is already looking worryingly similar to how 2023 developed for Bottas after seeing Verstappen and Red Bull enjoy a ‘clean sweep’ over the first two rounds. Sergio Perez has followed his teammate home with a one-two finish in Sakhir and Jeddah without a fight.
No driver has come close to threatening Verstappen, who can match his win-streak record at the Australian GP. His Saudi Arabian GP win moved the 26-year-old to nine in a row since the 2023 Japanese GP. He won a record 10 straight from the Miami GP to the Italian GP last year.
Bottas finds Verstappen’s early-2024 dominance ‘concerning’
Ferrari star Carlos Sainz is also the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix since George Russell of Mercedes took the 2022 Sao Paulo GP. The Spaniard won the 2023 Singapore GP to deny Red Bull a perfect season as Verstappen won 19 and Perez won two of the 22 races.
Verstappen (4) and Perez (1) even won Red Bull five of the six Sprint events last term. Oscar Piastri in his rookie season with McLaren denied the team from Milton Keynes a flawless run at the 2023 Qatar GP. So, Bottas fears how well Red Bull and Verstappen have started 2024.
“It’s been quite a clean sweep for the last two races for Red Bull and Max,” Bottas said, via quotes by Sportskeeda, following the Saudi Arabian GP. “So, it’s a bit concerning.
“Obviously, it doesn’t change our focus and our battles on track. But for the whole wide world, it could be a bit like last year. But let’s hope things change during the year.”
No F1 team has come close to threatening Red Bull yet
Verstappen won the 2024 Bahrain GP from pole position with a 22.457-second margin to his Red Bull teammate, Perez. Sainz was the best-placed non-Red Bull driver in Sakhir in P3. But the Ferrari star finished 25.110s off the lead, with Charles Leclerc (P4) another 14.559s back.
Leclerc was also the best-placed no-Red Bull driver at the Saudi Arabian GP with P3. But the Monegasque finished the race 18.639s behind Verstappen with Piastri (P4) a further 13.368 seconds back. Perez, after a five-second penalty, took P2 with a 13.643s gap to Verstappen.
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