Red Bull's extraordinary dominance of the Bahrain Grand Prix was "a real cold shower" for their rivals while the race also brought up "a real problem" for Mercedes.
That's the view of Damon Hill after watching how the first race of the 2023 unfolded. Max Verstappen romped unchallenged to victory with Sergio Perez some way behind in second place, but still miles ahead of anyone else on the track.
In contrast, Mercedes received a serious wake-up call. Even after only qualifying, team boss Toto Wolff conceded that his team is never going to be able to match Red Bull if they persist with their current car concept – and the race only served to further highlight the chasm between the two rival teams.
