With Red Bull ending Mercedes' eight-year reign as Formula 1 Constructors' Champions at the United States Grand Prix, 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg believes this could be the start of a run of domination from the team for years to come. While Ferrari have been Red Bull's main challenger in 2022 and Mercedes look to be fixing their problems for next season, Rosberg thinks it will be "so difficult" for them to take the title away from the Milton Keynes-based team in 2023. "Red Bull are the dominant force at the moment in the way that Mercedes were in all these past years," Rosberg said on Sky Sports' Any Driven Monday . "Securing that Constructors' Championship as well so early, also having such a dominant team in every area at the moment, just as Mercedes had." While Ferrari have out-classed Red Bull on pace, having achieved their 12th pole at the United States Grand Prix, Rosberg thinks that the combination of Max Verstappen and the RB18 has been unbeatable so far. "They have the car, they have the development rate during a season, reliability now, they have the driver who's the best or the equal best in F1 right now, they have the strategy – always nailing it all the time," Rosberg continued. "It's just all coming together in an incredible way, the engine seems to be awesome too. "It's definitely in a period now where it's going to be so difficult for any other team to come close again, even next year, the way it's going at the moment because they have such momentum."
Rosberg says Mercedes' 'Achilles heel' will need sorting to challenge Red Bull
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has already admitted that the team will need to change the 'DNA' of their car for 2023 , and Rosberg reckons that mostly relates to their straight-line speed. "It's going to be really tough for Ferrari, or even Mercedes to get closer," Rosberg added. "For Mercedes, the Achilles heel is that straight-line pace; my goodness are they slow on a straight, especially compared to Red Bull. "I really hope they manage to find the secret there to unlock some pace down the straights."
Most read
