Horner warns 2023 F1 dominance no guarantee for defending champions Red Bull
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has warned the team's astounding 2023 dominance is no guarantee for successfully defending Max Verstappen's F1 crown in 2024 despite rivals' concerns, predicting increased competition.
Christian Horner has warned that Red Bull's astounding level of dominance in the 2023 season culminating in Max Verstappen's third drivers' championship, is no guarantee that it can repeat the feat in 2024 despite rivals' pessimism.
Complete dominance in 2023
In a season characterized by the Milton Keynes-based outfit's outright supremacy, Red Bull remarkably clinched 21 out of 22 race wins as Verstappen shattered numerous records.
The team notably scored victories in the last 10 consecutive Grands Prix.
However, Horner stressed that massive regulation changes in the past have previously overturned dominant championship cycles very swiftly - citing Mercedes' utter dominance in 2020 prior to Red Bull catching up in 2021.
Hence, 2024s relatively stable rules may not prevent increased competition.
No room for complacency
When probed on whether Red Bull can replicate its success, Horner replied, "I don't think we'll ever be able to repeat the season that we've had, but hopefully we can take the lessons from RB19 and apply them to [RB]20 and come up with a car that we can defend these titles with."
He suggested that while no team sustained a consistent challenge, fluctuations in form from Ferrari and Mercedes prevented even larger gaps to Red Bull.
Nonetheless, Horner says the Singapore blip served as a "useful lesson that things can change quickly".
Towards 2024 title defense
The Milton Keynes outfit has already shifted development focus to its 2024 challenger RB20, raising fears that they may continue their dominance.
However, Horner insists that "nothing stands still" in F1 - expecting design concepts to converge and differences to reduce over time.
With regulations remaining largely stable, Horner believes rivals can still pose a stronger threat to Red Bull's supremacy next season.
But for now, he remains humbled yet satisfied at having orchestrated the most successful F1 campaign ever - delivering Verstappen a record-shattering title defense.
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