The 2022 Australian Grand Prix was indeed a weekend of unexpected twists for Red Bull as their lead driver, Max Verstappen, had endless hindrances to cope with. Following an astonishing end to the race in Jeddah, it almost looked like the defending champion could absolutely crush his rival, Charles Leclerc, at Albert Park.

However, in reality, it was only the other way around; The Monegasque, despite facing a stern fight from Verstappen through the practice sessions, nailed his final Q3 lap to clinch his second pole position of the season. Of course, like any other championship-contending team, Red Bull looked forward to Sunday’s main race, hoping to supersede the leading constructor, Ferrari.

But, then arrived the heart-wrenching taste of reality for Red Bull as they understood Ferrari had a rather beast-like challenger in hand for Leclerc. The championship leader blasted off at lights out, and that was it! He went on to stretch his lead to an extent where the fans began to sense a bit of deja vu with Mercedes’ dominant years.

The real gap between Charles Leclerc & rest of the field?

Not really an exaggeration but it was pretty massive. On live TV, there were hardly any cameras focusing on Leclerc or Verstappen as both the drivers were on their own respective races amidst zero pressure from behind. The gap was then around 6 seconds which summed up the battle to be a one-sided affair.

However, to make it even worse, Verstappen retired from the race midway, leaving Leclerc with a much bigger lead to the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez. Here’s a video that clearly reveals the enormous lead Leclerc had against the Mexican at one point in the race.

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You could see Leclerc passing by in his Ferrari followed by an extremely awkward silence. Around 15 seconds later, the only other Red Bull emerges.

Can Red Bull add some spice to the title rivalry?

Red Bull do have the most powerful car at the moment, and, with Verstappen at the wheel, there is no denying that the RB18 could perform well beyond its potential. However, in terms of reliability, the Milton Keynes outfit have taken a serious blow, with their new powertrain experiment on the verge of going awry.

The team has already faced two DNFs in three races which have nearly cost them 36 points. Hence, as of now, it looks like the work is already underway at the factory with the engineers desperately looking for a solution to end this daunting DNF train. But, will they be able to find a way past the awful phase in Imola? Well, we’ll know soon enough.