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Nate Saunders wonders if Red Bull and Max Verstappen will dominate the 2024 F1 season (2:46).
McLaren boss Zak Brown has warned that Formula 1 could enjoy an even more one-sided season in 2024 if Red Bull takes further steps forward with its dominant race car for 2023.
Red Bull won every race last year, a record 19 wins thanks to Max Verstappen, who won his third world championship.
Given its merit and to mitigate the effect of the wind tunnel penalty for exceeding the 2021 load limit, Red Bull’s progression approach has shifted mid-season from its dominant RB19 to its successor, which will race this season, raising fears that the team will. He further reinforced his merit on the track.
McLaren is one of Red Bull’s closest rivals, but Brown didn’t make any big promises about what to expect in 2024.
“We need to keep closing the gap,” Brown said when asked about his ambitions for next season.
“We finished up last year second, third quickest team, depending on which circuit you’re at. The car development has been strong. Red Bull certainly seems like they didn’t develop last year to the level they could if they wanted to, so that could be an unpleasant surprise for all of us.”
As he did after the final race of last season, Brown expressed fears about the evolution of Red Bull’s relationship with its junior team with AlphaTauri.
AlphaTauri has been based at Minardi’s former Italian headquarters since its inception, but will move some of its operations to Red Bull’s facility in Milton Keynes before the new year.
Brown believes this set-up would undermine F1’s budget cap.
“Concerned about the AlphaTauri-Red Bull alliance,” he said. As I understand it, AlphaTauri is moving to the UK, which I think will gain benefits for both teams, so this A/B team and co-ownership, which is a whole other point from the A/B team, is a big concern for we. and for the suitability of the game and the fairness of the game.
“When those measures were put in place, the game was in a different situation, a huge gap between other people like us who had huge budgets and smaller teams.
“Now almost everybody’s near the ceiling, even at roof level, so everybody’s betting with the same size of bat, to use a baseball term. So it’s not necessary, but it can give an unfair advantage. I think that’s the case. Get into the game quickly. “