With their charge led by their Dutch Lion, Red Bull won both titles this season. On Sunday, Max Verstappen finished the season on a high by winning his 15th race of 2022. Furthermore, Christian Horner will be a happy man as Red Bull has successfully managed to get back on the throne as the dominant team.

Although they had a stellar season, Red Bull will be disappointed not finishing 1-2 in the WDC. Sergio Perez missed out on P2 by a whisker as Charles Leclerc held his nerve to win runners-up in the WDC. But Christian Horner explained how they have faced the consequences of being the winning team this year.

In a conversation with GPFans, Horner said, “The higher you go, the sharper the knives are sharpened and we experienced that this year. The quickest way to become unpopular in the paddock is to win and win consistently.” [Translated from Google]

He further added, “We are a subsidiary of a company that trades in energy drinks, which competes against OEMs (original equipment manufacturers, ed.) and historic brands, and that obviously doesn’t sit well with some of our competitors. I think we’ve had a target on our backs off the track this year. But we are a racing team, we are not a political organization, we only focus on racing.”  

With this statement, Horner took shots at Ferrari and Mercedes, world-renowned automobile manufacturers who share 24 world constructors’ championships between them.

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Red Bull will now look to build on this season’s triumph and return even stronger next year. However, the Milton-Keynes outfit will not find it so easy after facing the consequences of breaching the budget cap last year.

Red Bull boss believes this year’s success is because of ‘Herculean effort’ from everybody on the team

In one of the most dominant seasons seen by fans in F1’s recent history, Max Verstappen was on fire all season long. His record-breaking season with 15 wins was a spectacular effort from the Dutchman. Moreover, Christian Horner has thanked his staff for putting up such a “herculean effort” for the team.

Horner told Sky Sports, “What a year. To win 17 races, two sprint races, have five one-two finishes, the drivers’ championship, the constructors’ championship and come oh so close to first and second in the drivers’, it has been an amazing year for the team.”

He also said, “The hard work behind the scenes, all the people you don’t get to see that have put in a herculean effort. It has been immense.”

The only other teams to win a race apart from Red Bull were Ferrari and Mercedes. The Silver Arrows’ sole win came in Brazil as George Russell won his maiden F1 race.

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The Milton-Keynes team now has to build on its success this year and carry the good run of form to 2023. Max Verstappen will be looking to defend his title and go for his 3rd championship. Meanwhile, Red Bull will be looking to fend off Ferrari and Mercedes to keep hold of their constructor’s title. Which team will come out on top next year?