Red Bull is currently the most dominant team in F1. They spent the majority of the turbo-hybrid era in the shadows of Mercedes but finally stepped up in 2021. They rose up to Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton’s challenge, with Max Verstappen winning the drivers’ championship.
2021 was a close battle between Red Bull and Mercedes, but 2022 was a different story altogether. Last season, Red Bull absolutely dominated, with the Milton-Keynes-based outfit winning 16 races, 14 of which went Verstappen’s way. With dominance, however, they drew in a lot of criticism too.
Midway into the 2022 campaign, it was revealed that Red Bull had spent more than the budget cap. This led to a lot of backlash, with some media outlets even claiming that the Austrian team ‘cheated’ their way to the Championship wins. Red Bull adamantly defended their position, stating that they mistakenly overspent on catering in 2021.
Former Red Bull driver explains why Christian Horner will feel sensitive
David Coulthard drove for Red Bull from 2005 to 2008 and is still closely associated with them. He appears in several promotional videos and events for the outfit and is in touch with the management. In a recent interview, the Briton had a few words of advice for his former employers.
Coulthard feels that the media is getting to Horner’s head. He took examples of Mercedes and Ferrari to describe teams who are always under a huge amount of pressure. He urges him and Marko to use them as a benchmark and learn how to deal with harsh critics.
BREAKING: Red Bull Racing issued with financial and sporting sanctions for breaching the 2021 budget cap pic.twitter.com/gqtGrRiWwB
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 28, 2022
“Obviously Red Bull and Christian are going to be sensitive to any criticism of what they do because it’s personal,” Coulthard said to Mirror Sport.
“I can only imagine how much stick Ferrari get in Italy every single day, for example. I suspect McLaren are sensitive to some criticism, and Mercedes had some criticism during their dominant era as well. You’ve just got to accept it. When it comes to the media, they all have the right to interpret the scenario and events based on their particular vantage point.”
Heading into the 2023 season, Red Bull are favorites to challenge for the Title once again. In fact, a huge chunk fans expect them to defend both Titles.
