Winning 21 out of 22 races, Red Bull has put up an unprecedented display of dominance. The performance was a perfect continuance of what the Milton Keynes-based team achieved in 2022. Viewed with a futuristic perspective, it’s the perfect platform to build on for the upcoming 2024 season. However, Christian Horner is far from convinced that Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez can reclaim the feat they achieved in 2023.
Speaking at the recently concluded FIA’s prize-giving Gala, as quoted by Crash, Horner said, “It’s been a remarkable season for us. None of us could have ever imagined this kind of season that we’ve just completed. To win 21 of the 22 races, five out of six sprint races. Defend both titles, and break many records along the way – some that have stood since 1988. I think it epitomizes every aspect of the team that has been performing at a phenomenal level.”
| Max Verstappen y Christian Horner posando junto al RB19
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— Trending+News (@tmasnews) December 8, 2023
However, Christian Horner cast doubts over the chances of it happening again. “I doubt we will be able to achieve again, statistically what we’ve done this year,” he remarked
This was after he lauded the entire team’s combined effort. Refusing to pin the credit on individuals or particular departments, Horner hailed all divisions for overcoming every challenge, including the ones posed by different circuits.
There was, however, one partner who got a special shoutout from the victorious team’s boss. Red Bull, courtesy of Max Verstappen’s 19 and Sergio Perez’s 2 race wins, breached the 800-point mark. That was made possible by the engine reliability and Honda, deservedly, got a special mention for the remarkable feat.
How Max Verstappen made the most of the ‘Rocketship’ RB19
19 wins out of 22 races reveals just how dominant Verstappen was throughout 2023. However, it fails to paint the true picture of how it all started for the Dutchman. While Red Bull’s golden boy was still getting a feeler of what was to come, teammate Sergio Perez made the most of it. Following Verstappen’s win at the season opener in Bahrain, Perez came out all guns blazing in Jeddah and carved out a clinical win.
Soon, however, he started to struggle with the car’s setup and the fault lines became more prominent with each passing race weekend. The gap for the top spot continued to widen ever since. While Perez may not have openly criticized the team for its shortcomings, Verstappen certainly has some pointers for Adrian Newey and the RB19’s successor.
Abu Dhabi 2021 ⏩ 2022 2023 pic.twitter.com/z5pMd7XBzt
— Max Verstappen (@VerstappenCOM) December 2, 2023
In a recent interview with Formula1.com, he said, “Of course there are [weaknesses]. Look at our race weekend in Singapore. In general, on street circuits, I think we are struggling a bit more, like in Vegas also. Low-speed is definitely not our strongest point in the car, [going over] bumps, kerbs as well, so that’s definitely a big area where we can improve.”
There are rivals lurking to exploit every given opportunity, though. The likes of Mercedes, Aston Martin and Ferrari will all be looking to shorten the gap at the top next campaign. Dark horses McLaren too, who developed their car spectacularly this season, will be looking to go one step ahead in 2024.
