Stefano Domenicali sees the competition catching up to Red Bull in 2024

The 2023 Formula 1 season came to an end last weekend in Abu Dhabi, and it left quite an impression, both on the history books. Max Verstappen won 19 out of the 22 Grand Prix races, including 10 consecutive victories between Miami and Monza, leaving only crumbs for his unfortunate teammate and the others. Max Verstappen also achieved 21 podium finishes out of 22 possible, 575 points, and most importantly, led for 1003 laps in 2023. Unbeatable and unparalleled. We had never seen such a fierce domination in Formula 1 since McLaren in the 1988 season. The Dutchman finishes his season with 54 career victories, now chasing Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, who have 91 and 103 Formula 1 wins respectively. In 2024, he will be chasing a fourth world championship.

Following this demonstration, should we be worried for 2024? If Ferrari collapsed in 2022 and no team managed to challenge Red Bull in 2023, worry sets in. However, the boss of Formula 1, Stefano Domenicali, is not worried.

« I am sure that this is the goal of all teams: to try to demonstrate the level of their engineering, the level of their ability, and their ability to improve. There are two crucial years because we are going to have a change (in the regulations) related to the power unit and others », he explained.

Already encouraging elements in 2023

If Max Verstappen dominated the first place with mastery, the battle raged behind between Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin. Qualifying sessions were often fiercely contested among the teams, as seen with Charles Leclerc, who secured 5 pole positions this year and frequently made it to the front row.

« You saw the qualifications, 20 cars within less than a second. In qualifying, we are therefore very, very close. Of course, the race pace is different, and I think these are the main things we will see change next year,” said Stefano Domenicali.

Despite these hopes, many voices are raised against the budget differences that play a major role in the development of each team. However, some teams have proven otherwise this season, and Stefano Domenicali sees McLaren as an example to follow: « To critics who say that with a limited budget, one cannot develop the car, I would say that McLaren proves that this is not true. »

If this 2023 Formula 1 season has not been marked by strong on-track opposition, it has entered the history books of the sport. Now, the teams aiming for victory have the entire winter to fine-tune a competitive car in order to counter Red Bull’s dominance. Let’s look ahead to 2024 and mark your calendars for February 21st, the first day of winter testing in Bahrain.