Red Bull CEO’s reaction during Max Verstappen’s spectacular performance at F1 testing says it all.

On the first practice day of the F1 season, Red Bull dominated, and Gianpiero Lambiase could hardly contain his excitement.

During F1 preseason testing, Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase could not contain his joy following the Red Bull racer’s strong showing. On the opening day of a three-day test event in Bahrain, the defending world champion was the driver of choice.

It is not surprising that Red Bull is still the dominant force, since many believe Verstappen will win four world championships in a succession this year. The Dutch driver won the championship the previous season with a smooth finish, finishing less than 300 points ahead of Sergio Perez in second place.

Verstappen’s dominating performances, coupled with those of Red Bull teammate Perez, contributed to the Austrian constructor’s sixth Constructors’ Championship championship. During the 2023 season, a driver from Red Bull won only one of the 22 races.

Now that 2024 is quickly approaching, it appears like Red Bull—and Verstappen in particular—are on track for yet another prosperous season. Verstappen set the fastest time during the morning practice session in Bahrain, so the early indicators are positive.

Competing on the same course as the drivers for the inaugural Grand Prix the following weekend, Verstappen outperformed McLaren teammate Lando Norris by more than seven tenths of a second. Race engineer Lambiase responded cheekily to such a fantastic performance, grinning condescendingly at the outcome.

For Red Bull’s rivals, the indicators are concerning since it appears that the gap between the leading team in Formula One and the rest is only becoming bigger. But with team principal Christian Horner mired in an investigation over suspected unethical behavior, there is some uncertainty around Red Bull ahead of the new season.

When questioned about the matter at the Bahrain test event, Toto Wolff, Horner’s Mercedes teammate, responded as follows: “Formula One and the teams stand for inclusion, equality, fairness, and diversity, and that is not only about talking about it, but living it day in and day out. We simply established these expectations for ourselves.