Red Bull reliability concerns could thwart Max Verstappen in his bid to win this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
That is the view of former Formula 1 racer Johnny Herbert. But the broadcaster is also very aware that, from a performance standpoint, it is likely that the Red Bulls will be in a league of their own again in Baku this weekend.
Verstappen sits at the top of the drivers' championship after the first three races, with team-mate Sergio Perez his closest challenger. And Red Bull already have a healthy gap at the summit of the constructors' standings and look well placed for a successful defence of their title.
The performance gap on track between the RB19s and the other cars has been significant. And former Sky Sports pundit Herbert is not convinced anyone will be much closer in Baku.
"Can anyone stop the Red Bull march? In a word, No! Not at the moment," he told Ice36. "I don't see it changing. Sergio Perez always goes well there. Max will obviously be going very well. Because of that the advantage they have got at the present time will continue.
"Can Mercedes be challenging, can Ferrari be challenging and can Aston Martin? I don't see it, because one advantage Red Bull have is that top line speed which is very handy to have in Baku, I don't see it as a track which is going to help the others.
"But, again, you don't know what might come into play like we had in Saudi when there was the issue that Max had in qualifying for example."
That said, reliability issues which have threatened to derail Red Bull's efforts in the three races so far could strike again. Herbert feels that such a disaster for the championship leaders might be the only way their main rivals will have a sniff of victory in Azerbaijan.
He added: "They both suffered a little bit on reliability in the qualifying session. I suppose that might be something that could produce a twist. The good thing with it is that, because there is not the opportunity to collect so much data as there normally is, that might bring in something. But, overall, I can't see too much troubling Red Bull."
