Formula One Grand Prix weekends seem to have the same outcome–another record being broken by Red Bull and Max Verstappen. That pattern continued last weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Halfway through the 2023 campaign, a big question looms: Will Red Bull win every race run this year?
Verstappen’s victory at the Hungaroring sealed a 12th consecutive victory for the Red Bull Racing team, going back to the final race of the 2022 season in Abu Dhabi, beating the previous record of 11 straight wins set by McLaren in 1988.
Most Formula One fans are asking when the dominance will end. Dominance is the right word, too. Verstappen took the chequered flag over 30 seconds ahead of Lando Norris, the largest winning gap of the season so far. Red Bull’s dominance led Toto Wolff, Team Principle at Mercedes, to claim that other teams look like Formula 2 cars going up against a Formula 1 machine.
With 11 races completed, we are now halfway through the 22 scheduled races for the 2023 season, and it seems the only thing that can stop Red Bull from winning every race this season is reliability issues. So far in 2023, Red Bull has won on every type of circuit, whether it be a street circuit like Monaco, a high-speed track like Silverstone, or slow-speed corners, as was the case in Hungary this weekend. They have also proved unbeatable so far in all weather conditions and on all tire compounds.
Verstappen is 110 points clear of teammate Perez in the Driver’s World Championship and 142 points ahead of the nearest non-Red Bull driver, Fernando Alonso. Red Bull is 229 points ahead of Mercedes in the Constructor’s World Championship. Both titles could be realistically wrapped up before the upcoming Summer Break.
Moreover, with rules/regulations stable in Formula One for the next two seasons, the expectation is that Red Bull’s dominance will likely continue through at least the 2024-25 racing season. And that’s an ominous prospect for competitive racing.
So, is there a team ready to take on Red Bull? The surprising answer is possibly McLaren, given the rate of progress seen this season by the McLaren team. McLaren started the season with arguably the slowest car on the grid. Star driver Lando Norris finished near the back of the circuit in three of the opening five races. However, new upgrades were added to the McLaren cars, and Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri have rocketed up the grid.
McLaren now looks to be Red Bull’s closest challenger. Norris has started the last three races in the top four, and his 2nd place race finish in Hungary secured back-to-back 2nd places for the first time in his Formula One career. Rookie Piastri has been just as impressive, qualifying in 3rd and 4th positions in the last two races and finishing in 4th and 5th place. Only the unfortunate timing of a safety car at Silverstone robbed the young Australian of a maiden Formula One podium.
McLaren has proved that with the proper development work, a Formula One car can be transformed even in the middle of a season. That realization offers hope to Red Bull’s other leading competitors, Mercedes and Ferrari. However, with more than a 30-second gap between Red Bull and their nearest challenger in Hungary, many people believe Red Bull and Max Verstappen will continue hoisting victory trophies, at least in the near term.
