Red Bull dominance
In the last two years, with the introduction of ground effect cars, the Red Bull has increased its level of competitiveness with Max Verstappenalready winning in 2021 and which managed to put an end to Mercedes' successes in the Drivers' World Championship which had continued uninterruptedly since 2014. Counting on the potential of his car, the Dutchman then reached record levels especially last championship, winning 19 races out of 22 and taking home ten consecutive successes, entering the roll of honor for the third time with 6 GPs to spare.
The struggles behind Verstappen
An almost completely unstoppable triumph, even if Red Bull's repeated successes still generated a tighter competition for the podium area, both in the race and in the championship. Just think of the sprint start of Aston Martin, which finished fourth in the final standings after McLaren's great comeback, or the fight between Ferrari and Mercedes for the vice-champion title, obtained by the latter with an advantage of just 2 points on the Cavallino. All in all, six teams out of ten I managed to get at least one top-3 finish.
Brown's 'thank you'
Numbers which, according to the CEO of McLaren Zak Brownhave made F1 very competitive, with the 52-year-old American now looking forward to an even more active 2024: “On the one hand, with just one driver, we have never had a less competitive Formula 1. Thanks Max, hats off“he told the KTM Summer Grill podcast.
“Last year was the first time in the history of Formula 1 that we had five teams with seven or more podiums. There were teams that were in ninth and tenth place in the championship that reached Q3, I wouldn't say regularly, but enough. In the good old days of Formula 1, the teams at the back of the grid were three seconds behind those at the front. Now the entire grid is covered by a second. I don't think Formula 1 has ever been so competitive, and I believe it will become even more so. Max and the RB19 worked their magic, making the lead race a little more predictable than we would like. But behind you, look at us: we were ninth at the beginning of the year and came second at the end. Then there was Aston Martin, second fastest at the start but then dropped to fifth place to recover later. The teams have been fantastic, so I think this sport is extremely competitive and that, once any of us get this Max, Formula 1 will be unlike anything we've seen before“.
#Brown #competitive
