2022 has without a shadow of a doubt been Red Bull’s year, with the side having enjoyed dominance on a scale not seen for many years.
The Austrians claimed an astonishing 17 wins from the 22 completed races in 2022, with double World Champion Max Verstappen having won 15 of them himself.
Verstappen actually set a new record for most wins in a single year, as well as most points accumulated in a single season, after scoring 454 points.
The Dutchman’s average for the season then was 20.6 points per round, an astonishing figure for the 25-year-old.
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He claimed a second consecutive World Championship with relative ease, as did Red Bull in the Constructors’.
Red Bull won their first Constructors’ trophy since 2013, after ending the year an impressive 205 points ahead of Ferrari.
On the other side of the Austrians garage, Sergio Pérez also enjoyed a solid year overall, with the Mexican having won two races in 2022 as well as having claimed his first-ever pole position.
There was undoubtedly much for Red Bull to celebrate this season; however, 2022 wasn’t all plain sailing.
The FIA did announce Red Bull as guilty of having exceeded the 2021 budget cap, with the side having breached the $145 million cap by almost $2 million.
This sum would’ve been drastically less had the side filed their tax documentation correctly, something they reportedly failed to do.
It resulted in the governing body punishing the energy drink-owned team with a $7 million fine and a 10-percent reduction in permitted aerodynamic research, meaning less wind tunnel time.
To make matters worse, the entire ‘Cashgate’ scandal took place at the same time as Red Bull’s co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz sadly passing, marking a huge loss for the Austrians.
Reflecting on the year, Red Bull boss Christian Horner does admit that his side have “lessons” to learn going into 2023, but that it has overall been a “phenomenal year”.
“In life and in this sport, in particular, you are always learning,” said Horner.
“You learn on the days you lose, on the days you win, you learn from everything that goes on in the sport, and, of course, that applies to everybody involved.
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“The day you think you know it all is the day you go backward.
“So of course, there are many lessons we will take out of this year but a huge amount of positives.
“It has been a phenomenal year for the team, the drivers, our partners, and obviously, in a year we, unfortunately, lost our founder [Dietrich Mateschitz] to have had the most successful year we have had in the sport is dedicated to him.”