2023 ended with legendary numbers for Red Bull: 21 victories out of 22 GPs contested, six doubles and 30 podium finishes out of a maximum of 44 available. Max Verstappen then, by winning 19 races, he disintegrated any existing record relating to a single Formula 1 season. Reading these figures it is difficult not to think that 2024 will also be a year characterized by total supremacy of the Milton Keynes team and the Dutch champion. To try to better understand what we can expect next year, however, we decided to go back in time and go and look back at what happens in the past after some of the more dominant seasons experienced in over 70 years of F1 history.
The dominators 'before Red Bull'
Limiting ourselves to the cold numbers, there are three seasons which – in terms of percentage of victories obtained – come closest to the triumphal march led by Red Bull: the 1988 McLarenThe 2016 from Mercedes and the 2002 by Ferrari. Red Bull's opponents should not be under any illusions, in all these cases the following season saw the team that had imposed itself – dominating – the year before remain at the top.
However, it is equally true that none of these years was followed by an equally overwhelming supremacy, On the contrary. The 1989, 2003 and 2017 seasons were three years that they experienced rather balanced and spectacular title battles. In all these cases, however, there were some regulatory interventions – small or large – which helped to re-establish a partial balance between the forces.
1988-1989, McLaren
In 1989 the McLaren of the formidable Prost-Senna duo confirmed itself as the main force on the track, but 'dropped' from 15 victories in 16 Grands Prix the previous year to 10 successes that year. L'the most important regulatory intervention in that case concerned engines, as turbo engines were banned (a decision that had been made three years earlier) and all competitors had to compete with 'traditional' naturally aspirated engines. At the Drivers' title level, the comparison, once again, centered on the duel between the Professor and Magic, with the Frenchman overturning – thanks to the controversial accident at Suzuka – the outcome of the championship of 12 months earlier.
2002-2003, Ferrari
The case in which we came closest to breaking a supremacy that seemed unapproachable was that of 2003. After winning 15 races out of the 17 contested in 2002, Ferrari dropped to eight triumphs in 16 GPs. Michael Schumacher, who had become champion with six races to spare the year before, confirmed his title only at the last race of the year after an exciting battle that lasted the whole season with Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren and Juan's Williams -Pablo Montoya. In that case, however, what changed – compared to 2002 – was theassignment of points, specifically designed to 'disadvantage' the winners of the races and reward regularity and the qualifying mechanism more, with the advent of the 'flying lap' to assign pole.
2016-2017, Mercedes
Finally, the 2017 season. Compared to the year before, Mercedes always won, but went from 19 successes in 21 GPs to 12 in 20 Grands Prix. Thanks to the growth of Ferrari, with Sebastian Vettel who fought for the title point-to-point with Lewis Hamilton for two-thirds of the seasonof the retirement of Nico Rosberg, reigning world champion, but also of another regulatory revolution, which this time concerned the dimensions of the cars – significantly enlarged – and the tyres.
Novelties of this type will not be seen in 2024, a year in which the team line-ups will also be very constant. For all these reasons, despite the help given by a possible convergence of services facilitated by continuity in the regulations, it is it's difficult to imagine that anyone could take the scepter of champions away from Red Bull and Verstappen.
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