Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz believes that while Formula 1's thrilling start the season may be great news for fans, it has turned the sport into a lottery for teams.
Five different drivers from five different teams have won the first five races of the season in one of the most open championship starts in the sport in recent times. While Mateschitz acknowledges the unpredictability is great for the fans, he feels this year's tires are making the racing a lottery, as he thinks no team has managed to understand how they work so far.
"F1 is more exciting and more unpredictable than ever before," Mateschitz said. "Obviously, caused by the rule changes before the season, the top teams moved closer together. I always had confidence in the potential of our RB8 and I still have, no doubt. But everyone has to learn F1 again. It has become a kind of lottery to find out the window in which a tire works.
"I do not believe this just happens on purpose to create more overtaking and tension in the races. I suppose no one really understands these tires."
Mateschitz also admitted he has been surprised by the pace of the Lotus team this year, but he reckons the squad's success across the season will depend on it being capable of staying on par with its rivals in terms of development.
"Lotus has been the biggest surprise of all. I think Kimi [Raikkonen] indeed had the pace to win in Bahrain. The question is how long Lotus will be capable to keep the pace of development work the other major outfits will show. If they can keep up with them, they will be a force to be reckoned with."