Red Bull have made a brilliant start to the 2023 Formula 1 season, winning all five races; the strength of their DRS has been a crucial factor in their success; watch the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend
Last Updated: 15/05/23 2:55pm
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Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz explains the reasons why Red Bull have been so dominant in 2023.
Red Bull have a 10 per cent advantage over most of their rivals when deploying DRS, according to Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok.
The RB19 has dominated the opening five races of the 2023 season, with reigning world champion Max Verstappen claiming three victories and team-mate Sergio Perez having won twice.
A huge factor in their success has been the effectiveness of their DRS, which has enabled both drivers to recover from poor qualifying sessions, most notably with Verstappen winning from ninth on the grid at last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.
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“It’s genius isn’t it?” Chandhok said of Red Bull’s DRS on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast ahead of the upcoming Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
“We’ve had DRS now for 12 seasons and they’ve just gone there and thought, ‘right, we need to find something that gives us this incredible advantage so even if we don’t qualify the front row it doesn’t matter’ – as proved this weekend.
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Ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place around Imola
“Somebody was showing me some drag numbers and when they hit the magic button, the Red Bull loses about 24-25 per cent of its drag – this was for the case in Baku – whereas most others are sort of 14-15 per cent.
“So they’ve just given the drivers free performance. So more often than not they’re going to qualify the front row but even if they don’t, they’re still going come through the pack.”
Chandhok has been impressed by the form of both Red Bull drivers to start the season, and also hailed the team’s chief technical officer Adrian Newey, who has recently signed a contract extension.
“They have no weakness either,” Chandhok said. “It’s like a cricket team that can bat down to number 10.
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Sky Sports’ Natalie Pinkham breaks down what to expect from the Emilia Romagna GP as F1 heads to the iconic Italian circuit
“They’ve got two incredible drivers, the car is quick in qualifying, it manages the tyres well, the engine is strong, it can overtake, the strategy team is brilliant, the pit-stop team is brilliant.
“And there’s no lack of motivation. Adrian is heading into his 40th year at the forefront of the sport, be it IndyCar or Formula 1, and he’s still motivated isn’t he? And his brain is still there and he motivates that team of people around them.
“There are just no weaknesses in that team.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Emilia-Romagna GP schedule
Friday 19 May
8:50am: F3 Practice
10am: F2 Practice
12pm: Emilia-Romagna GP Practice One
1:55pm: F3 Qualifying
2:50pm: F2 Qualifying
3:45pm: Emilia-Romagna GP Practice Two
5:30pm: The F1 Show
Saturday 20 May
9am: F3 Sprint
11:15am: Emilia-Romagna GP Practice Three
1:10pm: F2 Sprint
2:10pm: Emilia-Romagna GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: Emilia-Romagna GP Qualifying
4:45pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday 21 May
8:40am: F3 Feature Race
10:10am: F2 Feature Race
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Emilia-Romagna GP build-up
2pm: The EMILIA-ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Emilia-Romagna GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
Formula 1 returns to Imola for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix from May 19-21. Watch every session live on Sky Sports F1 including the race from 2pm on Sunday May 21.