Max Verstappen has called for Red Bull to continue pushing through car upgrades as Formula 1's sliding scale aerodynamic testing regulations begin to unfold.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit has been the dominant force in F1 since the dawn of the ground effect era in 2022, with Verstappen and Red Bull taking both drivers' and constructors' titles so far.
But it has been the sheer number of victories for the Dutchman in this period that has underlined his dominance, having twice broken the record for most wins in a single season en route to his titles.
Yet the current campaign paints a very different picture at the midway stage, despite Verstappen remaining on top of the standings. Both Ferrari drivers, both Mercedes drivers and McLaren's Lando Norris have tasted success, with Sergio Perez's struggles opening the door for a title battle in the constructors'.
F1's sliding scale regulations were introduced alongside the budget cap in an attempt to level the playing field, with the bottom team in the championship standings given 45% more testing time than that of the championship-winning squad - each of the 10 teams separated by 5% increments.
Asked whether these regulations were beginning to impact Red Bull's dominance, Verstappen replied: "Naturally, it will always help to have more time but that's how the rules are, right? To try to slow down the winning team.
"When you are the ones chasing you are happy when it is like that and, when you are the ones leading and being caught up during the season, you look at it like it is not what you want. But that's how the rules are written, everyone agrees with it and you just have to deal with it."
Verstappen had beaten the nearest non-Red Bull challenger (Carlos Sainz) by 25 seconds in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, but with Mercedes joining McLaren and Ferrari in the fight for wins - when the Scuderia is not battling issues with its own upgrade package - the three-time champion has already called for update efforts to continue.
The team arrived at the British Grand Prix with an upgrade package, though damage picked up in Q1 meant Verstappen was unable to fully display the improvements through qualifying.
On the effectiveness of the new package, Verstappen said: "We can see the gain.
"The weekend was a little bit hit and miss with trying a few bits on the car and of course, the weather doesn't help. But when you look at it, if we didn't have damage with the floor, we would have definitely been in the fight for pole. So that is a positive.
"We need to keep pushing, we need to keep bring bits - and I know they will come and hopefully they will be a little bit better than the upgrades at the other teams."
Christian Horner has long warned that Red Bull would begin to be bitten by the law of diminishing returns given its strong headstart under the current technical regulations.
But when this rhetoric was put to Verstappen, he warned: "I refuse to believe so, because then you just get lazy.
"I am confident that everyone within the factory, they are always pushing flat out to try and bring bits of performance to the car, but there are a lot of smart people in other teams that are also doing the same thing."
