Verstappen: Regulation status quo will tighten F1 field

Max Verstappen believes the longer F1's current technical regulations remain unchanged, the better chances of rival teams catching up with Red Bull.

So far this season, Red Bull has remained out of reach of its direct competitors thanks to the technical superiority of its dominant RB19, whose design is rooted in last year's championship winning ground effects machine.

As usual when a team reigns supreme for an enduring period in F1, as was the case for Mercedes at the start of Grand Prix racing's hybrid era, critics warn that fan interest in the sport is at risk and that an adjustment to the regulations is in order.

But Verstappen argues that a prolonged regulation status quo will offer teams the best chance of catching up and terminating Red Bull's hegemony.

"We've always seen this in Formula 1, it's nothing new," the Dutchman said ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

"I think the longer you leave the regulations the same, the closer people will get. So maybe this is something we need to look at.

"But you have the odd year or maybe two years where there are two teams fighting, maybe potentially a third team, but overall, when you look back at the 80s, the 90s, the 2000s and early 2010 all the way till 2020, it's been pure dominance of certain teams.

"Just keep the regulations the same for a longer period of time," he added. "Because if you keep on tweaking stuff, one particular team will always find something a bit better than the others and then it takes a bit of time for everyone to close up, from my side."

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Mercedes charger George Russell, who joined Mercedes at the start of a troubled period for the Brackley squad that followed eight years of supremacy, was on the same page as Verstappen.

"I agree with what Max said, there's always been dominant teams in Formula 1," said the Briton.

"And I don't know how we get to a place where you can have multiple drivers and teams fighting for the championship because I think that would be the best for the sport best for all of us.

"The fans would love it but obviously, you can't always get what you dream for."

Formula 1's Aerodynamic Testing Restriction handicap - which restricts a team's CFD and wind tunnel hours depending on an outfit's previous year's position in the Constructors' standings - was introduced with the aim of supporting a level playing field.

But Russell believes the system has yet to prove its merits.

"We've only been a couple of years now into the aero regulation and the handicap system, but it hasn't drastically changed anything up and down the order," the Mercedes driver explained;

"Maybe the only team you can argue is Aston Martin, but I think that's probably via certain engineers joining to help push in the right direction.

"You could give quadruple the amount of wind tunnel time to the team at the bottom over the one at the top and the one at the top would probably still come out in the lead."

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