"Very flattering": Christian Horner reacts to Lewis Hamilton's remark about the Red Bull being the fastest car he’s ever seen

Red Bull boss Christian Horner recently responded to Lewis Hamilton's remarks about the RB19's pace advantage. Hamilton was taken aback by the straight-line speed of the car as Max Verstappen pulled off an overtake on him with ease at the Saudi Arabian GP.

In a post-race interview, Lewis Hamilton admitted to the media:

"I’ve definitely never seen a car so fast. I think when we were fast, we weren’t that fast. I think it’s the fastest car I’ve seen, especially compared to the rest."

A fortnight later, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has responded to comments made by the seven-time world champion. The 49-year-old called the comments "flattering." He added that the Mercedes driver had himself enjoyed the pace advantage for many years.

Horner said:

"Well, it's obviously very flattering, particularly considering some of the cars that Lewis has driven in recent history, but, you know, we've got a great car."

Speaking about Red Bull's 2023 challenger, Horner said:

"I mean, RB19 is a fantastic starting point for the season for us and to have achieved two 1-2 finishes in the first two races is more than we could have ever expected coming into this season."

While Lewis Hamilton has driven some of the fastest F1 cars of all time in his career, he reckons that the RB19 is in a league of its own. He claimed that the pace advantage that the Red Bull cars boast is bigger than what Mercedes had in their era of dominance.

In the Saudi Arabian GP, Max Verstappen started the race in P15 and took the checkered flag behind his teammate Sergio Perez, finishing P2. The Dutchman strategically overtook most of the competitors in the DRS zone, taking advantage of higher top speed.

F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia

Lewis Hamilton was helpless when Verstappen was in pursuit. The Mercedes driver admitted that he didn't bother defending, as there was a significant speed difference.

Heading into the Australian GP, the RB19 will be able to maximize its pace advantage, as the Albert Park Circuit has four DRS zones.

---

Lewis Hamilton unhappy with the Mercedes W14 cockpit design

Lewis Hamilton revealed that the W14 cockpit was too close to the front wheel, which affected his driving style. Hamilton added that the designers had built a front-biased cockpit, which is not to his liking. He added that this trait makes the car "harder to predict."

The seven-time world champion termed his experience of driving the car as "one of the worst feelings" as he said:

"If you look at the past, I've always enjoyed an oversteering car. I don't know if people know, but we sit closer to the front wheels than all the other drivers. Our cockpit is too close to the front. When you're driving, you feel like you're sitting on the front wheels, which is one of the worst feelings to feel when you're driving a car."

F1 Grand Prix of Australia - Practice

Hamilton also stated that the cockpit design needs to change in the future.