Formula 1 is back this week, and the Bulls are chasing history.
Red Bull has been without question the dominant team this season. They sit atop the Constructors’ standings with a commanding 208-point lead over Mercedes. Max Verstappen has a massive lead of his own, with 255 points on the season ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez, who sits in second with 156 points.
Just how good has Verstappen been? His 255 points counted alone would sit atop the Constructors’ standings.
But on the whole, Red Bull has been dominant. They have won all ten races this season and, when combined with Verstappen’s win in Abu Dhabi to close out the 2022 season, Red Bull is sitting on 11-straight wins.
That mark ties the record set by McLaren back in 1988, when the duo of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna combined to win the first 11 grands prix of the season. En route to their dominant Constructors’ Champions, McLaren ended up winning 15 of the 16 races that season.
Can Red Bull break that record this weekend?
It certainly looks like they can. After all, Verstappen won here a year ago, and the team is even bringing some upgrades to the RB19 this week, upgrades which reportedly may shave off to “two-tenths” per lap.
Not that the RB19 needed any help, but some is coming nonetheless.
Speaking at Thursday’s press conferences, Verstappen was tight-lipped about the upgrades. “They look good,” said Verstappen, while outlining that the upgrades should help the RB19 in the corners. “Everyone of course always tries to improve the car, right? So that’s also what we are trying to do.”
Regarding history, Verstappen brushed aside the record, outlining how he was just focused more on winning, rather than records. “I don’t know. I’m honestly not really thinking about that. I’m just here to have a good weekend,” said Verstappen Thursday. “Of course, I will try to win. I’m not going into this weekend thinking we can win 12 races in a row. So yeah. If we win, that means of course we break that record, but it’s more important that we win.”
Given how they have performed so far this season — and the new upgrades to the RB19 — it is hard to bet against them.
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