There have been many seasons in Formula 1 where one team and even one driver have utterly dominated, but this year has reached new levels.
So far this year Red Bull have won all 14 races, with Sergio Perez picking up two wins and Max Verstappen the other 12. Moreover, Vertstappen has now won ten in a row, the longest winning streak in the sport’s history.
Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Verstappen suggested there might be some hope for anyone trying to prevent an 11th straight win, suggesting the layout will curb many of the Red Bull technical advantages.
“I think the street circuits are a little bit tougher for our car. I still think we can do a good job, but it will be very tight,” he remarked. That may be a small crumb of comfort for opponents, but Vertappen’s unprecedented run included victory in Monaco.
Have Red Bull got where they are through a combination of the best precision engineering and the failure of rivals like Mercedes and Ferrari to meet the challenge? Or is this total wipe-out set to continue?
The notion of a sport ‘broken’ by one team’s excessive dominance exists elsewhere. Red Bull will know all about this, as the team carrying their name in Salzburg has been Austrian football champions 12 years in a row, reducing traditional giants like Austria Vienna and Rapid Vienna to the ranks of also-rans.
However, even Red Bull cannot dominate everywhere. In Germany, RB Leipzig can only watch on as Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga every year. It is a league where ownership rules giving fans a 51 per cent ‘golden share’ have constrained nouveau riche clubs, unlike in Paris or Manchester.
In Formula 1, a sport where Abu Dhabi’s billionaires host races rather than bankrolling teams, the playing field should be more level, not least with budget caps in place.
People should not forget that Red Bull won the Constructors’ Championship four times in a row between 2009 and 2013, but did not succeed again until 2021. Success comes and goes in Formula 1. Max Verstappen should make the most of his wonderful car while he can, because it won’t always be this way.