Why 'it's a shame that Red Bull' and Max Verstappen are out of reach for Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Ferrari, according to F1 pundit

F1 pundit Scott Mitchell-Malm claims it is a shame that Red Bull and Max Verstappen are currently out of Mercedes, Aston Martin and Ferrari's reach.

The Briton believes that given the stiff competition between the three rival teams in 2023, it would have been interesting for them to be challenging for P1, rather than fighting over second place.

Max Verstappen stormed off to win the 2023 F1 Canadian GP, giving the Milton-Keynes-based team their 100th win in the sport. In doing so, the Dutchman matched Ayrton Senna's win record in the sport - with 41 victories to his name so far.

While the Austrian team's gap to Mercedes and Aston Martin was drastically smaller in Montreal, the two rival teams were still no competition for Verstappen and Co., who have won every race so far this year.

Speaking on The Race podcast, Mitchell-Malm mentioned is a shame that Red Bull isn't currently within touching distance of Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Ferrari. He said:

"There's so little difference between those two cars in particular, the Aston and the Mercedes - and to a degree the Ferrari - that it's just a shame that we have this Red Bull out in front because the nature of the cars, where their strengths and weaknesses are, track and upgrade-to-upgrade, that pecking order is influenced."

Red Bull aero mastermind Adrian Newey hints at retirement

Aero wizard Adrian Newey has hinted that he may not be too far from retirement, having been a crucial part of the sport since the 1990s. With the team's most recent win in Canada, Newey won his 200th race in the sport, making him one of the greatest engineers to ever step foot inside F1.

Newey has been responsible for some of the most iconic and dominant cars in the sport's history, including the Williams of the 1990s driven by Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, and Damon Hill to the title-winning McLarens of Mika Hakkinen in 1998 and 1999.

He is also especially well known for his off-throttle blown-diffuser design with Red Bull from 2010-2013 when Sebastian Vettel won four titles consecutively.

Expressing that while he wants to continue for a while, Newey knows that his time in the sport is coming to an end slowly. He said:

"I'm lucky enough to be doing what I always wanted to do. I enjoy the job, loved it. My career can't go on forever, so as long as the team want me and I enjoy it, I will keep going. Realistically, it's on a countdown. Exactly when that day is, I don't know."

With Max Verstappen well on his way to a third consecutive title victory, the Dutchman can thank Adrian Newey for his remarkable contribution to the team.