Horner reviews 'up and down' Red Bull dominance

Sam Hall
Friday 2 December 2022 06:45

Christian Horner has cast his judgement on Red Bull's most dominant season in F1.

Max Verstappen secured his second consecutive drivers' title while Red Bull topped the constructors' standings for the first time since 2013.

The season began under scrutiny for Red Bull as both drivers retired from the first round in Bahrain, with Verstappen again failing to finish through a reliability issue two races later.

But the Dutchman overturned the deficit to Charles Leclerc to storm to the title, finishing 146 points ahead of the Ferrari driver.

As for Sergio Perez, the Mexican picked up two victories in Monaco and Singapore and fell only three points shy of providing Red Bull with its first championship one-two in F1.

"Both of our drivers have had their best seasons in F1," said Horner.

"Max has been truly outstanding this year. He has made another step following that championship win 12 months ago.

"And to think he has won 15 grands prix and two sprint races - when I started there were only 17 races. It is unbelievable."

Despite its dominance, the campaign was far from straightforward with a mid-season technical directive with regard to the floor, a budget cap breach and the furore over team orders in Brazil causing unwanted distractions.

Unperturbed, Horner added: "There have been some ups and downs in the season but if you look at the year as a whole, it has been an outstanding year for the team."