After the close battle against Mercedes in the 2021 Formula 1 campaign, Red Bull enjoyed a dominant 2022 season, probably even more than the Austrian side had hoped for after the first three rounds of the season. Max Verstappen went on to easily secure another Formula 1 drivers’ championship, as Red Bull won its first constructors’ title in the last decade, taking 17 race victories from the 22 rounds that took place last year.
While Scuderia Ferrari had a positive start to the 2022 F1 campaign, with Charles Leclerc taking two race wins from the first three races, in the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Australian Grand Prix, Red Bull hit back strong, especially in the second part if the year, with Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez winning 10 of the final 11 races of the season. The only race that Red Bull did not win in the second half of the championship was the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit, where George Russell secured his maiden Formula 1 win and Mercedes’ only victory in 2022.
Mercedes had difficulties in getting to grips with the rules and technical regulations introduced last year, spending the first half of the championship far behind rivals Red Bull and Scuderia Ferrari.
As the championship progressed and Toto Wolff’s men understood their issues with the W13 challenger better, both George Russell and his teammate Lewis Hamilton began to challenge the F1-75 cars of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and also the RB18 of Sergio Perez, with Max Verstappen dominating in his Red Bull.
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Despite the fact that the Maranello team was able to defend its second place in the Constructors standings, Red Bull’s Helmut Marko believes his team should fear Mercedes more than Ferrari in the 2023 Formula 1 season.
“I would say that we should fear Mercedes more,” the Red Bull boss pointed out – “Mainly because they have an advantage over Ferrari in terms of strategy and reliability.” – he added.
The Italian side initially seemed to be able to mount a title challenge against Red Bull last season, with the F1-75 car proving to set an impressive pace in the pre-season testing session and the first few races, but gradually losing ground in the second half of the season.
Power unit reliability problems and a few poor strategic choices from the Maranello pit wall cost Ferrari valuable points and the opportunity to fight Red Bull for the titles.
The Italian side has some major changes ahead of next season, with Frederic Vasseur replacing Mattia Binotto as Ferrari team principal, as the Maranello team will attempt to put an end to end its title drought in 2023 amid the potential for a three-team fight.
Helmut Marko was sceptical that Red Bull’s success last year could mean the beginning of a period of dominance, like we have seen with Mercedes when the V6 hybrid power units were introduced nine years ago.
“Our situation is certainly not like that of Mercedes at the beginning of the hybrid era. We don’t have an immense lead with the engine right now. So that is very different. Mercedes had at least 50bhp margin over all the others back then. And we shouldn’t forget: 2022 has been the first year under this new set of regulations. Other teams have obviously seen what we have done with this year’s car. So I think it will definitely be much closer next season.” – the Red Bull boss concluded.
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