Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, has tempered expectations for an impeccable 2024 Formula 1 season before the onset of pre-season trials.
Following their triumph in both the drivers and constructors’ championships in 2022, Red Bull continued their dominance into 2023, securing their titles with ease and claiming victories in 21 out of the 22 Grand Prix events.
However, the team fell short of achieving a flawless season in 2023, encountering a setback at the Singapore Grand Prix. In that race, three-time champion Max Verstappen crossed the finish line in fifth place, while Sergio Perez ended up in eighth, with Carlos Sainz taking the win.
Horner detailed to media outlets, “Setting a target of winning all of the races will be very difficult, I mean, we achieved 21 out of 22 last year, and only Singapore got away from us.
“So technically, we can improve, but logically, there is going to be convergence with stable regulations, we can see other cars have had influence from [the] RB19. We’re expecting other teams to converge.
“I think the team has done a wonderful job on the RB20, they haven’t sat on their laurels, and you can see they’ve pushed the boundaries with the car, so we’ll only see when we get on track in Bahrain, the relative pecking order for the start of the season.”
Verstappen clinched 19 of Red Bull’s 21 wins, earning his third world championship in a row and joining the elite group of only five drivers to have achieved three consecutive titles in F1’s history.
Starting with the Miami GP in May and concluding with the Singapore GP in September, Verstappen went on a streak of ten straight wins.
This remarkable sequence allowed him to surpass Alberto Ascari’s 1952 record for the highest win percentage in a single season, with Verstappen securing victories in 86 percent of the races.
Nevertheless, the competition is expected to tighten in 2024, as Red Bull’s competitors are likely to have drawn lessons from the dominant RB19 car during the off-season, potentially closing the gap.
Verstappen stated when questioned about achieving a flawless season, “I mean, these kinds of things are very tough, I think it’s also not our goal,
“I think it’s just about trying to deliver another very competitive car, and from my side, of course, I’ll try to deliver the best I can. But that depends on a lot of things that have to come together.
“So I guess only time will tell, you know how quick we are. And, of course, also around us, people are learning more and more. It’s up to us how great the season is going to be because if you have more natural competition with different teams, it’s even harder to win races.”
