Despite Lewis Hamilton's understandable fears, Christian Horner doubts that Red Bull will be able to repeat its 2023 form again next season.

In a tremendous season, there are few, if any, records that Max Verstappen hasn't broken, one of the most remarkable being that he completed every one of the season's 1,325 racing laps. His teammate's car was equally bullet-proof and other than the accidents in Japan and Mexico might well have matched the feat.

With the rules barely changing for next season, Lewis Hamilton was understandably downcast in terms of the prospect of taking on Max and the RB20.

"At this moment I don't really know," he replied when asked if Mercedes will be able to challenge its Austrian rival next year. "For Red Bull to win by 17 seconds in the end, and they haven't even developed their car since August, is definitely a concern."

However, Horner played down the prospects of another walkover, a situation that would worry not just Hamilton and Mercedes but the sport's stakeholders.

"We saw that in 2020 with Mercedes, if you remember that was their most dominant year and yet we were able to beat them in 2021," said the Briton.

"There was a subtle rule change, but I think nothing stands still and we had competitors coming closer at different venues this year and I'm sure concepts will converge, stable regulations always concertina, so I don't think we will ever be able to repeat the season we've had.

"Hopefully we can take the lessons from RB19 and apply them into RB20 and come up with a car that we can defend these titles with."

Like McLaren in 1988, Red Bull failed to win just one race, and while one might argue that the season was just 16 races back then - compared to 22 this year - both are remarkable achievements.

However, while Ayrton Senna famously fell foul of Jean-Louis Schlesser at Monza that year, Red Bull's downfall came at Singapore where the team was at sixes and sevens.

Asked if he was bugged by that strange, off-colour weekend, Horner said: "No, it leaves you humbled that there's still something to strive for. It's a useful lesson that things can change quickly.

"Singapore was a standout weekend," he continued. "You guys have been asking me since race three if I think we can win all the races this year.

"To win 21 out of 22 races is insanity. For Max to have led over 1000 laps, for him to have won 19 races...

"We have broken McLaren's record from 1988, broken Seb's record with Max from 2013, the win ratios, all the percentages that he's hit...

"This car will go down in history, certainly for a considerable period of time, as the most dominant car in Formula One history."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 01/12/2023 0:43

"@ITC...should be. Can't go to work without it!"

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2. Posted by itc, 30/11/2023 2:57

"Verstappen might not want to win quite so many races next year, given he will be paying more than $1M for his 2024 Superlicence. Wonder if it's tax deductible."

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3. Posted by ClarkwasGod, 29/11/2023 10:55

"I seem to recall he said something similar at the end of the '22 season.

But what's the issue with this? F1, like any sport, is a meritocracy. Throughout the eras, one team will be dominant for a period, then supplanted by another.
Reliability nowadays means it's more likely for a car that is significantly faster than the opposition to manage such a feat than was possible in earlier periods. I have never found this to be boring - maybe annoying, if it happens to be a team you don't particularly like, or support (especially if that team appears to have advantages "gifted" by the governing body). No, Formula 1, being the pinnacle of motorsport, must always celebrate excellence in engineering. It's for the other teams to strive to match, and exceed whoever is in front with that target on their back. "

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4. Posted by Chester, 28/11/2023 16:12

"The death of F1 because of Red Bull dominance? Did it happen with Vettel's years? Did it happen with Mercedes years? No it didn't.
Could be the death in some minds who the best driver is. "

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5. Posted by yakker, 28/11/2023 14:50

"kkk if that were true nobody would be watching F1 after Mercedes dominance"

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6. Posted by KKK, 28/11/2023 13:22

"Lets face it, the F1 year was boring to say the least. If Red Bull keeps the winning streak, it will be the death of F1
Hopefully both Mercedes and Ferrari will up the ante and we can have races instead of processions."

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7. Posted by Hobgoblin, 28/11/2023 12:09

"and all of this with the restrictions of the cost cap penalty and subsequent windtunnel restrictions.
They have done an outstanding job in spite of these, when these penalties are no longer there I think everyone should be worried."

Horner doubts Red Bull can repeat 2023 form

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