F1 News: Christian Horner Publicly Admits Lack of “Stable Regulations” Caused Max Verstappen’s Dominance

After the 2022 season, many doubted and asked the question if they would be able to repeat the feat. However, Red Bull did one better and they set a higher standard with their dominance in the 2023 season. The Austrian team won all but one race out of which Max Verstappen won a mind-boggling and record-shattering 19 races. However, heading into the new season, the boss Christian Horner says it won’t be easy to do one better or even repeat the mega feat while revealing the biggest contributing factor to their dominance.

Red Bull was head and shoulders above the competition in 2023 with only Ferrari coming close to them in one race. McLaren put up a fight in stints while Mercedes still stayed at a comfortable distance. However, as they head into the third year under the same regulations, Horner believes the competition will be much closer.

“I’m fully expecting with stable regulations, [there’ll be] diminishing returns for us, because I think we got to the top of the curve quicker than others,” Horner told F1 journalist Lawrence Barretto. “The field is going to converge. For us, it’s difficult to know who that will be. Will it be McLaren? Will it be Ferrari? Will it be Mercedes? It keeps moving around behind us. But that’s what we’re fully expecting going into [this] year.”

He adds: “There’s always a reset as you go into the following year. I’m convinced that you’ll see a lot more cars that look like the RB19 philosophy going into next year. If you stand still in this business, you tend to be going backwards. I think we have got up that curve quicker than others, but we’re into a law of diminishing returns.”

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Christian Horner believes the teams will catch up to Red Bull with stable regulations as their advantage after the change will be nullified. Many hope this will be the case as well, with many F1 entities hoping for one of the other teams to put up a worthy challenge to Red Bull. However, come 2026, the next regulatory change, Red Bull might be ready to dominate again, at least that’s what their American partners hope.

Max Verstappen and Co. get a boost with their newly signed F1 partners

After failing to come to terms with Porsche, Red Bull Powertrains joined hands with another automobile manufacturer, Ford. The American company was more than happy to become a part of the circus in any capacity. That’s what the deal with Red Bull sailed through and the two industry giants will start working together from 2026.

However, the excitement and expectations are already riding high and the CEO Jim Farley showcased that during their Performance Season Launch.

He said, “We got the best freakin’ team! It’s that simple! We have the best drivers, we get the best technical support, we have the best of Ford around the globe to support them. The Powertrains team that they are building in Milton Keynes is absolutely top notch. We are going first class to the very top of the podium.”

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We are still not sure what in capacity will Ford be working with Red Bull, but they’re clearly excited about this opportunity. However, for now, Red Bull and Horner’s focus is on the matters at hand, which is the 2024 season.