The 2023 season was one of the most dominant seasons in F1 history. Red Bull and Max Verstappen also broke a 35-year-old record that was set by McLaren and their dominant combination of drivers with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
During the 1980s, McLaren was one of the most successful teams. They started with a driver combination of Alain Prost and Niki Lauda. However, when Ayrton Senna joined the team, McLaren went to another level. During the 1988 season, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost won all but one race. As fate would have it, the 1988 Italian Grand Prix was won by the Ferraris of Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto.
McLaren won a total of 15 races out of the 16 races that were held that season. This gave them a win percentage of 93.75%. During the 2023 season, Red Bull won a total of 21 out of the 22 races that were held. Since the number of taces held was greater than in the 1988 season, Red Bull has the higher win percentage with 95.45%.
RB19 has now surpassed MP4/4 of 1988 in terms of win % and is now the most successful F1 car ever statistically
Farewell King 👑#F1 #abudhabiGP pic.twitter.com/BlaBGnq9Rd
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) November 26, 2023
The 2023 season was one of the most dominant seasons in F1 history. Not just for Red Bull but for Max Verstappen as well. With Red Bull winning 21 races, Max Verstappen won 19 of them. The only race that was not won by a Red Bull driver was the Singapore Grand Prix.
With 19 race victories, Max Verstappen has broken his own record for most race wins in a season. In 2022, Max had 15 wins which was the most at the time. There is no one who can doubt the Dutch driver’s talent after this season. There is no doubt that he is in the conversation for one of the best drivers in the world. Although his accomplishments have not reached the level of Lewis Hamilton or Michael Schumacher, based on the pace he is driving, he will get there soon.
The deadly Senna-Prost pair that wreaked havoc over rival F1 teams in 1988
Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were one of the most dominant duos in F1 history. Both these drivers were at the peak of their careers when they drove for McLaren. They dominated the entire field during the 1988 season.
The McLaren duo won every race except for the Italian Grand Prix which was won by the Ferraris. While the McLarens thought they had built a good car, they had a different problem. Since the McLaren drivers had no one to fight with, the rivalry between them started. Although this rivalry was going well during the 1988 season, things took a turn for the worse after the 1989 season.
Max Verstappen led exactly as many laps in 2023 as Ayrton Senna & Alain Prost did driving McLaren’s MP4/4.
Max Verstappen laps led: 1003
MP4/4 laps led: 1003Max had more races but the most dominant driver & car come in perfectly symmetrical. Both powered by Honda too. pic.twitter.com/wMAKP6qflW
— Dan’s DRS Zone (@F1GuyDan) November 26, 2023
Senna and Prost were battling against each other race after race. There were no other drivers or teams that could compare to them. during the 1989 season, the rivalry between the 2 drivers became too much to handle. By the end of the 1989 season, the 2 drivers had come together many times on the track and the Championship battle went on till the last race.
Alain Prost went on to win the 1989 Championship. However, after the season, Prost said that he could not be on the same team as Senna and decided to leave and go to Ferrari. Even after Prost went to Ferrari, thier rivalry continued. However, he was not able to beat Senna in the McLaren in 1990. There is no other rivalry in F1 history that compares to this one.
