The 2023 season has been an all-Red Bull affair. While the Austrian team has won all the races this season, Max Verstappen has been in the form of his life, winning twelve of the fourteen races so far. Many fans love the dominance of the Dutchman, but most have grown bored of the monotony at the top. With Verstappen’s continued victories, the sport has seen a drop of around 650,000 in viewership numbers, and F1 boss Greg Maffei admits that the dominion is a challenge for the sport.
In the bygone week, Verstappen won his twelfth race of the season and his tenth consecutive GP win. By doing so, not only did he create the record for most consecutive wins, but he also inched one step closer to breaking the record for most GP wins in a season (15), which he set just last year. Furthermore, Red Bull is on its way to becoming the first team in history to have a flawless season, having won 14/14 races so far.
The governing bodies of the sport have been striving to level the playing field and increase the excitement of racing. However, Red Bull and Verstappen’s domination is starting to drive the fans away.
Greg Maffei admits Max Verstappen Dominion proving to be a challenge
Red Bull has lost only one race in the last 25 GPs, and Verstappen has been on the top of the podium for most of these races. While the battle in the mid-field has been intense, having the same driver win each weekend has caused fans to steer clear of the races. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has been hard at work trying to bring in even more investors by taking Verstappen’s example and calling it historic.
However, Maffei calls the Dutchman’s feat a challenge in their latest bid.
“The challenge obviously is Max Verstappen is having an unbelievable year or record-setting year. Stefano Domenicali is rightly trying to pivot and say, ‘Come watch this historic event, you’ve never seen success like this, you don’t want to miss it.’ We’ll see if that works.”
Maffei also jokingly recalled an infamous incident from 1994 involving Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan. The 63-year-old said they have a competitive product in the form of F1, but Verstappen’s speed is an issue. He added, “Short of breaking his leg, a la Tonya Harding, I’m not sure what we can do about that!”
Maffei holds no hard feelings against Verstappen
Even though the Dutchman is proving to be a challenge for Maffei and Domenicali, the former is still appreciative of all he has achieved in F1. Maffei believes the two-time defending world champion is a phenom and drives the fastest car on the grid very well. He added the stats prove Verstappen is faster than anyone else on the grid while also praising the aggressive lines he takes on the track and navigates with ease.
Verstappen’s incredible run has him poised for a third consecutive world title. With just eight races to go in the season, it is unlikely any other driver will topple the Dutchman, who sits P1 in the driver’s standings with 364 points. While the run-up to the championship is historic and unparalleled, the tedium has led to hundreds of thousands of fans not enjoying the sport anymore, thus choosing to walk away.
