(Motorsports news) With 13 wins out of 17 races, including 11 for world champion Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes dominated the 2020 season. With two victories for Max Verstappen, Red Bull came in a distant second. However, they caught up in 2021, setting up the most exciting title matchup between the two in recent memory. Verstappen easily won his third consecutive world championship in 2023 with Red Bull winning all bar one of the races.
In the meantime, Red Bull shifted its summer development focus to 2024, which has caused rival teams to become pessimistic that they can catch it next year. In response to a question about why he believes someone can defeat Red Bull in 2020, Horner said, “We saw that in 2020 with Mercedes.” You may recall that was their most successful year ever, but we managed to defeat them in ’21.
Though there has been a slight modification to the rules, nothing seems to be static. Competitors have been getting closer at various locations, and I’m confident that ideas will converge. Consistent laws always work together. Although I don’t think we’ll ever be able to replicate the season we’ve had, maybe we can use RB19’s lessons to RB20 and create a vehicle that will allow us to defend these titles.”
The regulations of 2024 are actually more stable than those of 2020–2021, when considerable floor redesigns resulted from a rule modification intended to reduce downforce. Verstappen won the final race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with a margin of 17 seconds, which was more than his 11-second victory in Bahrain’s opening race. However, Horner feels that the wider gap has been exacerbated by rival teams Mercedes and Ferrari’s notable ups and downs.
Different people at different times have done this. It has fluctuated between different venues, with McLaren leading the charge, Ferrari leading the charge, and Mercedes showing up at one time,” he remarked. Horner answered, “No,” when asked if there was any trace of frustration that Red Bull was not able to complete a clean sweep of 22 race victories due to a downturn in Singapore.
It teaches you a valuable lesson about how rapidly things can change and humbles you to know that there is always something to aim for. “The weekend in Singapore was fantastic. “Do you think you can win all the races this year?” is a question that you guys have been asking me since the third race. “It is insane to win 21 of the 22 races. Max’s accomplishments include leading more than a thousand laps, winning nineteen races, shattering McLaren’s 1988 record, and breaking Seb Vettel’s 2013 record.
He has also achieved numerous victory ratios and percentages. “This car will go down in history certainly for a considerable period of time as the most successful car in Formula 1 history.”
Also read: In 2024, Ferrari must take advantage of additional Formula One opportunities: Vasseur
