Ron Dennis: Red Bull has “self-inflicted” its problems
Ron Dennis, the head of McLaren, does not pity Red Bull's situation. He states in an interview with the Telegraph that the Austrian team has self-inflicted some of the problems they are facing.
Despite the four consecutive driver-constructor doubles achieved between 2010 and 2013, it goes without saying that Red Bull appears to have been unsettled by the new 2014 regulations.
During pre-season testing, the RB10 repeatedly encountered breakdowns, managing to cover only 1705 km in total, compared to the 4972 km completed by the Mercedes team. Not only was their car unreliable, but it was also not quite up to speed. In Bahrain, Daniel Ricciardo set his fastest lap at 1:35.743, nearly two and a half seconds off the best time set by Felipe Massa in his Williams. The Australian driver of the Austrian team was thereby relegated to 10th place on the timesheet.
Ron Dennis, the CEO of McLaren Group, when questioned on this subject, stated that not all the problems encountered are due to Red Bull, but they certainly have their share of responsibility. Part of what Red Bull is experiencing is self-inflicted. The Briton added: That’s part of any new regulation: if it involves the engine, someone will be on top, someone will be at the bottom.
Regarding his own team, based on the three pre-season test sessions, McLaren would be in a group behind Mercedes and Williams. However, the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne will provide more insight into the real hierarchy of 2014.
To conclude, the native of Woking admitted that the 2013 season had been painful. However, he is confident about his team’s competitiveness: “We are McLaren, and one thing is certain, we will win again. In what time frame? I can’t predict. But we will win. We are a great Formula 1 team. […] We just lost our way but we never stopped being a great team.”
