Ex-Formula 1 race winner Rene Arnoux has detailed how the stability of Red Bull’s RB19 compared to other cars was the main factor behind Max Verstappen’s dominance in 2023.
Red Bull has reigned supreme since the overhaul to the technical regulations in 2022, with the Milton-Keynes squad triumphing in 21 of the 22 rounds to be held this season.
Max Verstappen logged 19 of those victories to help Red Bull seal the Constructors’ title with record rounds to spare while he clinched a third consecutive Drivers’ title.
The Dutchman wound up 290 points clear of Sergio Perez in second, having blown away his team-mate with a new benchmark of 10 straight victories between Miami and Monza.
Arnoux believes Red Bull’s all-conquering 2023 challenger enabled its drivers to execute clean steering inputs while the rest were battling their machines the past year.
“Max is a fabulous driver,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Take a look at the on-board camera footage. Max brakes, turns, holds the steering wheel still and draws a clean line through the corner.
“The other drivers have to constantly make corrections at the wheel.”
The seven-time F1 grand prix victor has pointed to erstwhile team Ferrari to enhance his point, noting how it failed to deliver a car capable of challenging Red Bull in the races.
Charles Leclerc, who finished runner-up to Verstappen in 2022, was unsatisfied with the behaviour of Ferrari’s troubled SF-23 until a late-season upgrade eased his concerns.
Arnoux believes that the Monegasque driver is superior to team-mate Carlos Sainz and would be on the same level as the reigning World Champion with a stronger package.
“We can say with certainty that Charles Leclerc was very unhappy this year,” Arnoux said. “But his performances were consistently good, in complete contrast to Carlos Sainz.
“Sainz gave a fantastic performance in Singapore [to win], but in most of the other races, he fell short of expectations.
“For me, Leclerc is one of the world’s best drivers, in Verstappen’s group.
“Max might have a little more bite. But as I said, with a car like that it is also easier for Verstappen to show performance at such a high level. The Ferrari literally ate the tyres. After five laps of a grand prix, Max was already relaxing.”
Ferrari, along with Mercedes, are set to launch revised car concepts for next season as both teams aim to recover from challenging seasons to close down Red Bull.
However, Arnoux has warned that Verstappen will be tough to overcome if the Austrian outfit maintains a similar advantage over the rest with the creation of the RB20.
“If Red Bull builds such a good car for 2024, it will be another tough year for Verstappen’s opponents,” the Frenchman cautioned.
