RedBull 'Got Up That Curve Quicker Than Others' Says Horner As He Expects Diminishing Returns
F1
Christian Horner said he believes his Red Bull Racing team climbed the development curve faster than others, but the diminishing returns are coming.
What Red Bull achieved during the season 2023 is something that has never been seen in F1 before. To win 21 out of 22 races of the season is an incredible feat.
Reflecting on the achievements of his team ahead of the upcoming season, the team principal of the team from Milton Keynes said, according to Formula 1's official website:
"I couldn’t have imagined it in a million years. I don’t think we’ll ever see a repeat, certainly not in our lifetimes, of what we managed to achieve [last] year with a car that’s managed the kind of dominance of RB19."
For 2024 to be considered a successful season for Red Bull, the team does not have to win 21 races but must secure both Championships. Even Max Verstappen said he would be satisfied with winning only ten races if he still got the title. Horner continued:
"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."
The 50-year-old warned multiple times he fully expects other teams to catch up. But Red Bull also expected everyone to close the gap from 2022 to 2023, and that didn't happen.
"The field is going to converge. For us, it’s difficult to know who that will be. Will it be McLaren? Will it be a Ferrari? Will it be Mercedes? It keeps moving around behind us. But that’s what we’re fully expecting going into [this] year."
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack mentioned in his recent interview that he expects everyone to try to get closer to the Red Bull concept. Horner agrees:
"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."
Red Bull's team principal believes it will become more and more challenging to sustain their development pace, and that should allow their rivals to catch up in the upcoming two seasons.
"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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