FIA president: “Punish good kid Verstappen? No” 

Red Bull have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the 2023 season, winning all nine races to have taken place so far, with Verstappen victorious in seven of them. 

Verstappen has already built up a huge 81-point advantage over teammate Sergio Perez at the top of the F1 world championship and appears well on course to claim a third consecutive drivers’ crown this season. 

Asked if the FIA needs to take action to make things more competitive amid Red Bull’s dominance, Ben Sulayem told PA: "If we go about what's good and bad we'll open the door. I mean, was it good for Mercedes? Fair enough?

"It is [Verstappen’s] time, it's Red Bull's time. What do we do ... punish the good kid? No, let's go and make the other teams good. 

“Nobody’s stopping the other teams from being better. We cannot punish people for being better, for trying harder. That is unfair.”

Another victory at this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone would see Red Bull equal McLaren’s record of 11 straight wins by a team.

Lewis Hamilton recently suggested that teams should be banned from starting early development of their cars for the following season. 

The seven-time world champion’s idea was quickly dismissed by both Verstappen and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. 

Verstappen responded “we weren’t talking about this when he was winning” during Mercedes’ own period of dominance.