Red Bull Racing has carried forward its dominance in the current season from 2022. The Austrian team is cruising in the front without a hitch and has already won the opening three races. Max Verstappen has especially been brilliant in the opening three races. The Dutchman has led two of the three races. However, whenever he has led, some drivers on the grid, especially George Russell, felt Red Bull was not showcasing their full potential. Verstappen has addressed these sandbagging claims in a recent interview on the F1 BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast.

Verstappen made a very statement addressing Russell’s claim. What was Russell’s accusation? Well on the same podcast, Russell said, “Oh for sure they’re holding back.” Verstappen explained these sandbagging claims with reasonable logic.

“I mean, we just try to do the best we can with the development of the car, but it’s also about pace management because we didn’t really know – I think no one really knew – how long that hard tyre would last,” he said.

“So it’s about just bringing it home because we had a bit of pace I think over the others, and there’s no need to try and gain half a second a lap and destroy your tyres to the end because you never know, a Safety Car can happen, red flags, like we had today. So yeah, it’s not necessary to risk all that,” he concluded.

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Verstappen’s explanation made perfect sense as the Australian GP was marred with red flags. RBR’s team principal Christian Horner also echoed Verstappen’s comments.

Christian Horner also backed Max Verstappen in the sandbagging claim

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen were on the same wavelength while addressing Russell’s allegations. In fact, Horner disproved Russell with Sergio Perez’s example. He stated that it was a one-stop race and tire management had a crucial role to play in it. Therefore, it would seem natural that their cars were not running at their peak potential, which might have felt like sandbagging to Russell.

“There’s always an element of managing that goes on in any race,” Horner explained. “Checo wasn’t hanging about, he wasn’t cruising around, holding back seven-tenths per lap, because he didn’t want to show it.”

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The Mexican fought tooth and nail to get to P5 from P20. This showcased Red Bull’s incredible pace but refutes the sandbagging claim. The RB19 is class apart from the entire grid, whether or not Red Bull is showcasing it.