Name the Formula One record and Max Verstappen has probably broken it in his 2023 Red Bull. A full sweep of weekend points? Locked down last weekend in Austria when he won the sprint race, the regular Grand Prix and secured the fastest lap.Â
A month of racing without dropping out of first even once? Managed in June after easy victories in Monaco, Barcelona and Montréal.
Verstappen, who won the British Grand Prix over the weekend, has 255 points in the World Driver’s Championship—enough to be 99 points clear of his closest competitor. He has taken home over 91% of the points available to him in 2023. That’s on track for the highest points percentage in F1 history. And yet Verstappen is still improving.
For many new fans, Verstappen’s dominance raises questions about the long-term future of Formula One. What does it mean for the sport if races are no longer competitive because someone like Verstappen is capable of winning them by 20 seconds or more? Can F1 maintain its fan base without regular championship drama?
The answer is clearly yes.Â
Verstappen’s dominance isn’t new for F1; the sport is famous for its dynasties. Mercedes took home eight championship trophies in a row, seven by Lewis Hamilton, before Verstappen and Red Bull’s current run. Sebastian Vettel took home four consecutive trophies with Red Bull in the preceding years. And even casual fans of F1 know the name Michael Schumacher—that’s because he won seven trophies of his own in the 1990s and 2000s.
In short, Verstappen’s dominance isn’t a worrying sign for F1. On the contrary, it’s business as usual.
The reason for this is F1’s technical nature. F1 teams are given specific development rules each year and are told to make the fastest car possible while adhering to those regulations. Every five to 10 years, those regulations change dramatically.
Red Bull’s big advantage came from a massive rule overhaul in 2022 that saw it make the smartest design choices. But in between sea change years like 2022 lie several seasons of minor tweaks and edits. Other teams use those years to chase down the leaders. They often wind up getting close, but there’s always a clear advantage for the team that has its technical design right in the first place.
So, Red Bull is the clear technical victor in this cycle of F1 development. That means that Red Bull’s two cars, driven by Verstappen and Mexican driver Sergio Perez, should be well ahead of the competition most of the time. In fact, Perez’s inability to keep up with Verstappen is a sign of the skill gap between the two drivers. They’re using the same top-line machinery; the only thing separating them on the track is their driving styles.
If you’re new to F1, this might sound silly. Where’s the fun in racing if it’s clear who should be winning? The answer lies in the incremental improvements happening behind Verstappen’s car. There is endless drama in watching the other cars chase Verstappen’s benchmark.
Just take a look at McLaren, a team that whiffed its technical design in 2022 and floundered at the back of the F1 grid for much of 2023. McLaren recently upgraded its car in the hopes of making it faster…and jumped from 15th-place finishes to putting two cars in the top five in two weekends flat.
That’s the secret to watching, and enjoying, F1 during these eras of dominance. Celebrate the otherworldly achievements of winning drivers and teams like Verstappen and Red Bull Verstappen, but watch for the mighty competition happening just below them on the grid.
