Red Bull has been the most dominant team of the 2023 season so far. The Austrian team has won all 12 races so far this season, with Max Verstappen winning 1o of those outings. There are questions as to how long this domination is going to last, with some people predicting a slump once they start making their own engines in 2026. According to Motorsport, however, Red Bull chief Helmut Marko is adamant that they will still be on top after the new engine regulations come into effect.
F1 will enter a new era in 2026 with widespread changes to the power unit set to take place. Red Bull too, will enter a new era as they partner up with Ford, and will make major strides in developing their own F1 engines. Many experts predicted that these changes would lead to the Milton-Keynes-based outfit struggling comprehensively.
BREAKING: Ford to partner with Red Bull for the 2026 season and beyond #F1 @FordPerformance pic.twitter.com/Fjsbpcm2RY
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 3, 2023
Meanwhile, other teams are also working on their power units at the moment. In addition to Ferrari, Mercedes, and Renault, Audi is also developing an engine as they look to make their mark in F1 upon entering the sport in 2026. Marko, however, seems confident that Red Bull will continue with their domination.
Marko expects Red Bull to be ahead of Ferrari and Audi
In an interview with Motorsport, Marko spoke about the current state of development of their 2026 power units and spoke about potential concerns. For the most part, Marko is sure that they aren’t behind, despite leading a manufacturing project by themselves for the first time. At the same time, he doesn’t think that they are ahead of Mercedes at the moment.
Marko also mentioned Ford, and the role they are playing in helping their project become a success. “We work with Ford and we have the best people for the internal combustion engine,” the 80-year-old said.
“We also have two good people for the electrical department. In August, the combustion engine is on the test tire with an MGU-K and a battery. This means that we are miles ahead of Audi and Ferrari, and we are right with Mercedes,” he added.
If Red Bull do continue with their domination post 2026, their star driver Max Verstappen, who is breaking a new record almost every week, could shatter all of them in the years to follow.
Max Verstappen and his never-ending domination
When the turbo-hybrid era started in 2014, Mercedes became the most dominant team in F1 winning the constructors’ championship for eight years in a row. However, the baton passed on to Red Bull in 2022, and they are showing levels of dominance that were previously unseen in the sport.
This year, Red Bull has won all 12 races, and Verstappen has won 10. With the season break ending in two weeks time, Verstappen is the heavy favorite to win the remaining 10 races as well. If he does win more than five, he will break his own record of winning the most number of races in a single season.
It goes with saying that Verstappen is the 2023 world champion in the waiting, and can mathematically seal the title as early as the Qatar GP.
