Max Verstappen had expected rivals to close in on Red Bull for F1 2023, so was surprised when that proved not to be the case.
After Ferrari brought the fight in the early stages of 2022, Red Bull have since gone on to establish dominance in Formula 1’s ground effect era.
Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin have largely been left to battle against themselves for ‘best of the rest’ status, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz the only non-Red Bull winner in F1 2023, when Red Bull’s qualifying woes in Singapore opened the door for Sainz to go from pole to victory. McLaren may have been the major gainers of F1 2023 with their extremely effective development programme for the MCL60, the team claiming their first double podium of the season last time out in Japan, but there Verstappen only re-emphasised his dominance with a statement win after the Singapore setback.