FIA President responds to Hamilton's plea to hinder Red Bull

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has responded to Lewis Hamilton's suggestion to reduce Red Bull's advantage.

The team has dominated this years championship with nine wins so far out of nine races, while Max Verstappen looks on his way to sealing a third championship.

Much of the advantage that Red Bull has over their rivals stems from their work in the early stages of the current regulations, with the team also now potentially looking at their 2024 car.

But Hamilton believes teams should be given a specific time on when they can start development on their next challenger by the FIA, suggesting everyone starts from August at the earliest.

When told about the suggestion, President Ben Sulayem told The Associated Press: “If we go about what’s good and bad we’ll open the door. I mean, was it good for Mercedes?"

Ben Sulayem: It's Red Bulls time

F1's current regulations were introduced with the aim of making the racing closer and prevent teams from having any singular advantage. But Red Bull has managed to mimic the domination last seen by Mercedes at the start of the hybrid era in 2014.

The president of the governing body believes that it would be wrong to punish teams for "being better" and believes that it is Red Bull's time to enjoy the success from designing a dominant challenger.

He added: “It is (Verstappen’s) time, it’s Red Bull’s time. What do we do and punish the good kid? No, let’s go and make the other teams good. Nobody’s stopping the other teams from being better.

“We cannot punish people for being better, for trying harder. That is unfair.”