Red Bull Racing’s 2023 car RB19 has had a glorious season, with 21 wins out of 22 races that took place in the 2023 season. The three-time World Champion, Max Verstappen clocked 19 wins, completely dominating the grid and his teammate, Sergio Perez won two races, regularly appearing on the podium. The dominance asserted by the Austrian outfit raised many questions which were brushed off with time.
Post the final race at Abu Dhabi last weekend, the team principal Christian Horner told the race winner, Verstappen over the radio, ” All missions complete. What a year! Max, you have been absolutely mighty this year. It’s been an absolute privilege to watch you drive this car, which has been built by a brilliant team.” The team’s chassis has been one of the highest-yielding ones ever made in the history of the sport.
The race at the Yas Marina Circuit was yet another expected win by the Dutch driver, even after the pole earned by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The titles were confirmed for Red Bull and Verstappen long before but the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was important for sealing the second place in the Constructors’ Championship as well as the Drivers’ Championship.
With Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, and Carlos Sainz battling it out till the end. Ferrari, who wanted to pass Mercedes to take over P2 in the championship, failed miserably.
Lewis Hamilton worries as Red Bull dominates Abu Dhabi GP with ‘untouched car’
In the final race of the season which took place in the Middle Eastern City of Abu Dhabi, Max Verstappen starting from pole, maintained control, fending off a half-hearted attempt by Charles Leclerc on the opening lap. Verstappen’s power persisted as he crushed Ferrari with a commanding lead of 17.993 seconds, which is a huge margin when it comes to motorsports and Formula 1 in particular.
After being eliminated in the second qualifying round, Lewis Hamilton started the race from 11th place and finished ninth. He made an effort to pass AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, but on his final lap, he lost control of his W14 car. The seven-time World Champion had previously voiced his concerns about Red Bull’s significant dominance. However, it was turned down by the F1 authorities.
Lewis Hamilton’s prediction regarding Red Bull in 2024
“Red Bull won by 17 seconds and they have not touched the car since August or July..”
“So you can pretty much guess where they’re going to be next year.”
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) November 27, 2023
As per the British driver, “It’s not been a great year in general. So, there’s not a lot to take from the year. [Red Bull] haven’t even developed their car since August; it’s definitely a concern. But we’ve learned a lot about the car and it’s just down to the team now and they know what they need to do. Whether or not we’ll get there, we’ll see.”
Hamilton addressed the prospect of Mercedes recovering from its ground-effects problems in order to compete with Red Bull in the 2024 season.
