After Mercedes dominated the last era of Formula 1, it very much seems as if it is now Red Bull’s turn.
The RB18 was equally quick and reliable last season, allowing Max Verstappen to go on and win his second world championship title with very little opposition.
With one race of the 2023 season completed, it already seems that Red Bull are head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the grid, leaving Verstappen with only his teammate Sergio Perez to battle for the championship.
While Verstappen has been driving the quickest car on the grid for the past two seasons, his talent alone makes him one of the fastest drivers in the sport’s history.
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In his younger days, the Dutchman was often aggressive and rash, leading to him crashing out of races after pushing pash his limits in races.
Since winning his first title, Verstappen’s racecraft has improved dramatically, with the 25-year-old adding a scary level of consistency to his game.
With the Dutchman the clear favourite for the title once again this season, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he does not expect his rival to make many mistakes this year.
“I think he will be very, very confident,” said Hamilton via Racefans.net.
“I think they [Red Bull] developed an amazing car last year, they blew away all the records on pretty much everything and I don’t think they were pushing at the end and still were way ahead.
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“I don’t think he’ll [Verstappen] slip up. He’s a world champion and so I wouldn’t question his determination or his focus. I think he will be focussed as ever, and it’s our job to catch up.”
Mercedes’ decision to stick with their 2022 design pathway has already backfired, with team principal Toto Wolff admitting that his team have made a mistake and will now have to explore a different pathway going forward.
Ferrari also seem unable to challenge Red Bull in terms of race pace so far this season, leaving Max Verstappen with a clear road ahead to cruise to his third world championship title.