Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner believes his F1 team was “struck in the back” with a sharp “knife” off track after the controversial 2022 campaign.
Red Bull Racing proves the RB18 is the strongest machine in the field on track in 2022 with an unprecedented success of 17 wins from 22 races and a ‘double’ title for the first time since the 2013 season did.
Max Verstappen set a record with 15 wins in a season and Red Bull set a new record for points scored by a team in a single season.
Red Bull Racing started 2022 struggling with reliability, with two cars retiring at the season opener in Bahrain and Max Verstappen retiring in Australia with fuel system problems.
But then, after hitting its stride and going head-to-head with Ferrari, the RB18 stepped forward and became the most dominant car on the grid, taking 11 wins from the final 12 races of the season.
“If you win 17 grands prix and do what we’ve been doing, you will understand that it hurts our opponents,” said Christian Horner after the race in Abu Dhabi.
“I’m sure they[Mercedes and Ferrari]will give us even more motivation to be challengers next year. They are both very high quality teams that can never be underestimated in 2023.”
But Red Bull Racing’s success this year was not without controversy. Violating his $145 million cost cap for the 2021 season threatened to overshadow his on-track dominance. The teams have since agreed to fines and reduced development time for 2023.
Despite Red Bull’s most successful season in F1 history, Christian Horner believes he must accept the barrage of criticism directed at the team.
During negotiations with Red Bull Racing and the FIA, some called for Max Verstappen to be stripped of the 2021 title for cost cap violations, but Red Bull’s main rival Mercedes’ Toto Wolff and Ferrari’s Mattia Binotto did not respond
Christian Horner also had to deal with internal tensions after Max Verstappen refused to help teammate Sergio Perez’s shot for second in the championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix earlier this month. .
Asked if Red Bull Racing needs to rebuild trust with its fans after the cost cap talks, Horner said: “You always learn that at some point someone else has a problem.” rice field.
“The higher you go, the sharper the knife, and I’ve experienced that a little bit this year. The quickest way to be unpopular in this paddock is to keep winning.”
“We are an energy drink subsidiary and are competing with OEMs and established brands, which is offensive to some of our competitors.”
“This year we’ve had our backs targeted off the track. We’ve had some tough times this year, but unfortunately that’s F1.”
