Max Verstappen has been dominating the grid since 2021. He has been the undeniable champion with the fastest car on the grid. Thanks to the epic car design of Adrian Newey and the engines of Honda, Red Bull looks unstoppable at the moment. Moreover, it was the Dutchman who, after a long time, helped the Austrian team to win a title in F1. Since 2014, Mercedes had enjoyed an unprecedented hegemony. But then, in 2021, even though the German team still won the constructor title, the driver’s world championship had a Red Bull driver’s name instead of a Mercedes name. Then, in 2022, things changed completely in Red Bull’s favor with the change in regulations.
Moreover, the cost cap era saw a downfall of the previous champions as they managed only one race win in two years. On the other hand, Red Bull won two back-to-back constructor titles. Moreover, they won an unbelievable number of 38 races in a matter of just two years. But of these incredible 38 race wins, 34 Grands Prix victories belong to the Dutch driver. Sergio Perez only won four of those races. Recently, the McLaren CEO predicted that the sport will see another big shift of hegemony when a driver can truly challenge Max Verstappen.
When A Driver Can Challenge The Dominance Of Max Verstappen, F1 Will See A Big Transformation
Recently, in an interview with Speedcafe KTM Summer Grill, Zak Brown mentioned that the F1 Motorsport has never been more competitive before. Moreover, the McLaren CEO assumes that it will only keep getting more competitive. Apparently, Brown’s assessment of the current F1 status does not make any sense. But then he went on to explain himself. The McLaren CEO mentioned that Red Bull and their car have been doing their magic since 2022. But if everybody looks behind them, they will see a massive competition. For instance, McLaren was the 9th fastest at the start of the 2023 season. But by the end of the last season, they were the second fastest.
Brown admits that Red Bull and Max Verstappen have made the sport very predictable. However, the McLaren CEO used the case of Aston Martin to describe how massively competitive this sport will be. Aston Martin was the second fastest early on in 2023, then dropped to 5th fastest. Later, Fernando Alonso and his team made a comeback once again. Hence, Brown is trying to say that the teams were amazing. And, it is only time that somebody challenges Max Verstappen for the title. Then, Brown believes F1 will be nothing like they have ever seen before. It will be just that competitive.
Can Any Team Beat Red Bull This Year?
It is highly unlikely that the Austrian team will lose its hegemony before the new regulations in 2026 come into play. Since the cost cap era began, the Red Bull team went far ahead of the rest of the teams. Max Verstappen adapted brilliantly to the rise of the Milton Keynes team.
He became the Austrian team’s biggest weapon. However, there is the fastest car, RB19, in 2023. Albeit, RB18 was pretty fast too. But nothing comes closer to RB19. It has been the fastest machine in F1 ever. That’s what Max used to his advantage to the fullest. And that’s the sign of a great driver.
Stay tuned to Sports News International for more such updates about your favorite F1 team.
