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F1 pundit and former racer Ralf Schumacher feels Red Bull is starting to come under a bit of pressure in the recent races. The race in Las Vegas was a very close battle for the team and if it wasn't for the safety car timing, the chances of Charles Leclerc winning the race were highly likely.
The last few races have seen this happen quite a bit as teams are starting to close the gap to Red Bull and Max Verstappen has been sometimes pushed to the limit to hold on to a win. In Austin, there was an intense battle between Mercedes, McLaren, and the Austrian team.
Had there been a few more laps, Lewis Hamilton could have potentially challenged Max Verstappen for a win and maybe even gotten the better of the Red Bull driver. In Qatar, it was Oscar Piastri winning the sprint and getting the better of the Red Bull driver as well.
In the second half of the season, rival teams have certainly closed the gap and Ralf Schumacher felt that the Austrian team was starting to feel the pressure because of that. He told Sky Germany,
“Red Bull are coming under a bit of pressure. The teams have gotten closer. That makes the whole thing exciting. We only have one more race, so I’m looking forward to that.”
Red Bull driver could beat Lewis Hamilton's record
Max Verstappen leveled Sebastian Vettel's record of 53 career wins in Las Vegas, making it his 18th win of the season. The driver now has only Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton ahead of him with more career wins.
Ralf Schumacher was questioned whether Verstappen could break Hamilton's record, to which the German felt it was possible. It was however contingent on Verstappen wanting to be a part of the sport for that long and continuing to race. He said,
“In terms of age and talent, definitely. One question is, does he want to continue driving for so long? And the other: does he always have such a good car? Next year, I think that will be the case. He has to take good care of Adrian Newey so that it continues like this. Theoretically, he can break it but who would have thought that Hamilton would take so long and suddenly stop winning?"
Verstappen will be heading to the last race of the season with 18 wins to his name. He will be hoping to end the season with another win to end the season's tally at 19 wins.
