Horner makes ominous Red Bull rival prediction: 'Nothing stands still'

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner does not expect the team will run away with another Formula 1 title, after winning 21 races out of 22 this season.

The RB19 has gone down as one of the most dominant cars of all-time in F1, with Max Verstappen leading a record-breaking year which ended with him reaching third in the all-time win list.

The Milton Keynes outfit also secured their sixth Constructors' Championship, which means they will again have reduced wind tunnel time in 2024 under the current aerodynamic testing regulations.

While it is expected that Red Bull will continue their run of form into 2024, Horner believes that it would be foolish to believe that rivals will not catch up.

"We saw that in 2020 with Mercedes, that was their most dominant year ever and yet we were able to beat them in 2021," Horner told media, including RacingNews365.

"There is subtle change, but I think that nothing stands still. We've seen competitors come in closer at different venues and I'm sure concepts will converge.

"Stable regulations always concertina, so I don't think we'll ever be able to repeat the season that we've had.

"But hopefully we can take the lessons from RB19 and apply to RB20, and come up with a car that can defend these titles."

Horner: We almost didn't need a strategist with Max

The bulk of Red Bull's success in 2023 is down to Verstappen, whose points tally of 585 means he is responsible for 60% of all their points scored in the Constructors Championship.

It's even more striking when you consider the points he scored since the Belgium Grand Prix would still be enough to seal the title, owing to the lack of consistency from Red Bull's rivals throughout the year.

"It's been different people at different times, it's swung around from McLaren having a surge, Ferrari having a surge, Mercedes turning up at one point," said Horner.

"But particularly with Max this year, he's just been outstanding the way he's been on top of the car, the strategy, the tyres.

"We almost didn't need the strategist [in Abu Dhabi] because he seems to be doing the strategy for both of the cars. But as the strategist pointed out to me, he is considerably more expensive than she is!"