Max Verstappen and Red Bull were head and shoulders above their rivals in 2022, with the Dutchman securing his second title in Suzuka before his team wrapped up the constructors’ title in Austin.
Red Bull’s victory ended Mercedes’ dominance in the constructors’ championship over the last decade, but it initially looked like Ferrari would be the team to start the new era of Formula 1 with championship glory.
The Scuderia got off to a flying start with a one-two finish in Bahrain, however once Red Bull managed to reduce the weight of the RB-18, the energy drink giants boasted the fastest car on the grid for the majority of the season.
Max Verstappen broke the win record in 2022 that was previously held by Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher, finishing the year with a stunning 15 race wins to his name.
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The 25-year-old has now praised his team for getting their development of the RB-18 under the new regulations almost perfect, while the likes of Mercedes struggled.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about who designs the best car, who comes up with the more clever ideas,” said Verstappen.
“It was all a big question mark for everyone as to where you were going to be because, okay, you have your own numbers but you don’t know what others are finding.
“Yes, from the start of the year, the car was a little bit overweight, but overall, it performed well.”
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Red Bull’s chief technical officer Adrian Newey will be facing one of the toughest tasks of his career in 2023, as he has the job of creating a car capable of retaining the title with significantly less aerodynamic testing time than their rivals.
The energy drink giants have had ten percent of their testing time taken away in 2023 as punishment for their minor breach of the 2021 cost cap, which some team principals is not an adequate punishment.
Should Red Bull be able to fend off challenges from Ferrari and Mercedes with one hand tied behind their back next season, it could be argued that the RB-19 will be the most impressive creation in Adrian Newey’s stellar career.