Red Bull’s 2023 season set a new benchmark of dominance with 21 wins from 22 races. Max Verstappen single-handedly lead this juggernaut with 19 wins to his name, breaking his own record (of 15 wins) from a year ago. The Dutchman had been a class above the rest and Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur noticed the same.
Despite being aware of the engineering prowess that Red Bull have had over the past couple of seasons with the likes of Adrian Newey (who will leave them at the end of this season) and Pierre Wache in their ranks, the Frenchman named Verstappen as the team’s “most impressive element”, per The Race.
Max Verstappen clinched his 3rd world championship a year ago today in a record-breaking season.
It is genuinely a season you will never see repeated again. Here are all the biggest records and feats he set in 2023. There are so many that I ran out of space. pic.twitter.com/jtp7ynqPtA
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) October 7, 2024
Vasseur stated that Verstappen has done a “mega” job as he has not just managed to dominate in a few races but has shown such remarkable consistency over two full seasons. The Ferrari boss revealed that no matter how good of a car a team produces, it is still incredibly difficult for any driver to be so consistent and, in his words, “not make a single mistake” for such a long duration.
Vasseur, however, was not the only one to provide such an assessment of Verstappen’s performances in 2022-23. So have several other experts, who believe that the way the Dutchman won his fourth consecutive title in 2024, which was an ultra-competitive season, makes him one of the best drivers of all time.
Is this where Verstappen’s domination will end?
Although Verstappen eventually won the 2024 Drivers’ title with two races to spare, this does not tell the entire story of how difficult it was for him to retain the championship. With just two wins from the last 14 races, most of the second half of the 2024 campaign was all about damage limitation for him.
While Verstappen revealed after winning this year’s title that he does not want his “incredible“ run to stop here, he knows better than anyone else that he also needs the team to provide him with a strong car to win again next season.
“I am excited to see what we come up for next year,” said the Dutchman on the Talking Bulls podcast when asked what he expects from next season. “I hope it’s quick enough. I know when it’s quick enough, I will do the rest“.
Verstappen’s confidence in himself also seems to explain why Vasseur labeled him the “most impressive element” of Red Bull. After all, he is almost guaranteeing the team to achieve success if they provide a “quick enough” car.
