SAKHIR – For Red Bull’s nine rivals in Formula One, there is a mix of hope and realism that the sport’s dominant team can finally be beaten this campaign.
Last season, Red Bull and their champion driver, Max Verstappen, rewrote the record books in retaining their constructors’ and drivers’ titles.
Verstappen had said that his achievements would be “very tough to top”, adding: “But it’s not our goal. It’s about trying to deliver another very competitive car.”
Since the introduction of new aerodynamic regulations in 2022, designed to help one car follow another more closely and aid overtaking, Red Bull have won 38 of 44 grands prix in two seasons.
In 2023, Verstappen set the record for most wins in a season, 19 from 22 races. But the belief among many team principals and technical directors is that under the current regulations, the limits can be pushed only so far and Red Bull will be caught.
“Inevitably, when you have a team that’s doing as well as Red Bull has done since 2022, there will be some kind of convergence on their solutions. We take the approach that Red Bull is absolutely beatable. That’s what we are chasing after, what we are aiming for,” said Dan Fallows, the Aston Martin technical director.
Last season, Red Bull were beaten twice, by Carlos Sainz of Ferrari in the Singapore Grand Prix, and by Oscar Piastri of McLaren in the sprint race in Qatar.
Piastri’s teammate, Lando Norris, said it was possible for Red Bull and Verstappen to be beaten in a race this term, but he has questioned whether they can lose their championships.
“Are they beatable? We’re going to want to believe in saying yes because we were very close at times last season, and at certain times we did beat them,” he said.
“Can we beat them over a season? That’s going to be the challenge, and I think that’s going to be very difficult to do with how well they’re performing.”
After improvements to the McLaren were introduced at the grands prix in Austria and Singapore last season, Norris scored more points than any other driver except Verstappen over the final 14 races.
Verstappen dominated the campaign to such an extent that his record for most points in a season, 575, was enough to win the constructors’ title on his own. Second-placed Mercedes scored 409.
Mercedes, like Ferrari, have redeveloped their car for this season, introducing a new chassis and gearbox. Toto Wolff, the team principal, is pragmatic.
“You need to be realistic about the odds of beating a team that is a fair chunk ahead under these regulations and who got things right over the last two seasons whilst we have not,” he said.
“On the other hand, our ambition is strong. It is Red Bull and a very successful car that are the benchmark we are aiming to beat. I do not know when that will happen, we do not have any crystal ball. But we will know soon enough how far ahead they are and the task in front of us.”
At the start of last season, Aston Martin started strongly, with Fernando Alonso finishing on the podium in six of the first eight races but failed to win.
The 42-year-old Spaniard is encouraged by the words of his technical director, Fallows, that Red Bull are beatable.
“That’s a good thing he says that. It puts a smile on my face. We have to be optimistic at this part of the season,” he said.
“First, we have to be regularly in the points, fighting for podiums, as we were last year. And if we are in that position, it would be lovely to achieve the first victory in green for Aston Martin.”
The new season started at the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 2, and regardless of the result, there is only one driver who will have a target on his back throughout the course of the record 24-race schedule. NYTIMES
