Red Bull dismiss 'best year' tag despite brutal Verstappen dominance

Sam Hall
Wednesday 14 December 2022 12:00

Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan has revealed why he does not rate Max Verstappen's dominant F1 campaign this past season as the team's best.

Verstappen scored a record-breaking 15 wins en route to his second consecutive F1 title, helping Red Bull also clinch its first constructors' crown since 2013.

Monaghan, who has been with the team since the end of 2005, also experienced the previous era of dominance with Sebastian Vettel.

Asked if the latest campaign was Red Bull's best team performance, Monaghan said: "Perhaps [the] most dominant? We could argue for that, given the success we've enjoyed, but with more races this year.

"[In] 2009, when we started to challenge [was strong], and 2010, obviously with our first titles.

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"I'll say it's different because there's a confidence in the team. 2010 was a step into the unknown for us to some extent, at least that’s how I viewed it."

Red Bull "pulling in one direction"

Despite the combined 17 race victories of Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez, Red Bull faced stiff competition from Ferrari during the first half of the year.

Reflecting on the latest campaign, Monaghan added: "We’re exceptionally lucky.

"We had a good fight with Ferrari and some tussles with Mercedes this year and we managed to surpass those.

"So, is it the best year? I wouldn't say it's the best. I'll say it's one of our most satisfying years.

"We're very privileged to have a car and the team we have, whether it's trackside, factory-based, doesn't matter.

"Everybody's pulling in one direction, and the results speak for themselves."