With Red Bull and Max Verstappen dominating the sport, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari are forced to settle for a midfield battle. However, Charles seems to have accepted this fact and appreciates Red Bull and Max Verstappen for the job they are doing.
“There is always a certain level of dominance in the sport.” Charles Leclerc told the media, “Today it’s Max and Red Bull who are doing a fantastic job, whether it’s boring or not. Obviously, the races will be more exciting if we have another winner and we win by a margin of one second. But this is what Formula 1 is, and in the end, they [Red Bull & Max] deserve it.”
Since the beginning of the season, Red Bull has proved to be more dominant than any other team. So far, they have won every single race this season. Max Verstappen alone has won 12 races so far. From the way things look, Red Bull could win every single race this season. No other team has done so. The only team that has come close to winning every single race is McLaren in 1988 when they won 15 out of the 16 races that season.
Charles Leclerc on Max’s dominance:
“There is always a certain level of dominance in the sport. Today it’s Max and Red Bull who are doing a fantastic job, whether it’s boring or not.”
“Obviously the races will be more exciting if we have another winner and we win by a margin of… pic.twitter.com/dncPyZSTGj
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) September 6, 2023
Max Verstappen and Red Bull are on track to beat a number of records including most wins in a season, best win percentage, and more. Verstappen has already broken the record for most consecutive wins by winning his 10th race in a row in Monza.
There are another 8 races left this season and none of them in Europe. The drivers will be going to Singapore next week for the Grand Prix. It could be an interesting race as Sergio Perez has proven to be strong in Street Circuits.
Ferrari vs. Mercedes: Which F1 team can challenge Red Bull next year?
Although Ferrari and other teams are lagging back at the moment, they seem to be slowly catching up to Red Bull. Last weekend in Monza, although Red Bull took a 1-2 finish with Verstappen on the top step, Ferrari gave a tight battle and seemed to be faster in the one-lap pace.
Even Mercedes and McLaren have made impressive progress in their developments. Either of these teams could stand a chance to catch Red Bull. However, the only teams with enough resources to further help them do so are Mercedes and Ferrari.
Both Mercedes and Ferrari have had their chance at dominating the sport and have taken it. During the early 2000s, Michael Schumacher and Ferrari dominated the sport for 5 years. From 2014 to 2020, Mercedes were unbeatable. So there is no doubt that these teams know how to win a Championship.
Will Charles Leclerc win a Championship with Ferrari? 💭 pic.twitter.com/B2R15DVweY
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 29, 2023
Both Mercedes and Ferrari have similar amounts of testing time. So that gives both of them a good chance at challenging Red Bull next year. However, Mercedes seems to have a more organized structure within the team. In Ferrari, there has been a lot of miscommunication and confusion. There have been races where Ferrari and their drivers have not understood their own car. Even in Zandvoort, Charles said the car was very unpredictable.
On the other hand, Mercedes has been more clear about their developments this year. There was some confusion on what caused the porposing last year, but those issues have been cleared. This season, Mercedes has consistently been developing the car each race. Judging by this, it seems as though Mercedes could have a better chance at challenging Red Bull next year.
Who do you think will be able to challenge Red Bull next year? Post your answers in the comment section below.
Discussion about this post