Six victories in the last seven Grands Prix. Twelve out of the eighteen races that have already taken place this season. Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 supremacy in 2022 could hardly be more total. At the dawn of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Sunday October 23, the Red Bull driver is already world champion, four appointments from the end.
This second consecutive world title, and the stranglehold of his Red Bull team on the world championship commands respect as much as it arouses concern. Are we headed for a new lone rider, the “SuperMax Show” for several years? Nothing is less certain tempers Cyril Abiteboul. The former director of RenaultF1 explains to us why it is far too early to believe that the next seasons are already decided in advance.
Red Bull can win their first constructors’ title in nine seasons at Austin
Here’s how they can to do it #F1 @cotahttps://t.co/u7CXjmO9Cd
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 14, 2022
Do you think that this second crowning of Max Verstappen marks the beginning of a hegemony, comparable to that of Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull or Lewis Hamilton on Mercedes?
Cyril Abiteboul: This title is admirable and deserved. But I’m not sure it’s a marker of dominance. In F1, a sporting domination is a period which often relies on a domination either linked to the regulations, or to the capital, or to the talent and which allows to align the whole as well as possible.
Ferrari had a domination of capital with extraordinary means and which were not regulated, like its partnership with a large tobacco company. Mercedes experienced regulatory domination: they had fully anticipated the arrival of V6 turbo hybrid engines, and took an extraordinary lead. Then a change in trade regulations gave them a financial advantage that sheltered them, including protecting their talent with big deals. And I speak knowingly for trying to poke a few (smile). Red Bull was different, it was a very good alignment of the planets, when the other teams had a certain weakness.
Today, the F1 teams are almost all very strong, and have access to significant funding and limited by the budgetary constraints of the regulations which put everyone on an equal footing. We are moving towards a period of stability of several years. The engine regulations should not change between now and 2025-2026, so I can’t see Red Bull widening a decisive gap.
Can you imagine the Red Bull team being quickly challenged?
I don’t see why Red Bull would be in an unassailable position in the years to come. I think we will have very competitive races next year, because many teams have been able to continue their development this season. And those with the greatest means did not escape so much. Red Bull’s lead this season is relatively short for a first year of settlement, which was to be completely groundbreaking. Regarding the chassis, we have seen many teams in difficulty with porpoising, which everyone will have managed by next season normally.
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The grid will remain fairly compact, and that’s also why we’ve talked so much about strategy this season. People haven’t gotten dumber in a year, but the importance of strategy is more paramount than in the past. Red Bull have done well strategically this season, but that doesn’t protect them from being heckled later.
What is the room for maneuver for the teams to catch up, especially with the financial cap which will be more and more strict?
The simple choice, especially for the teams that were more limited in resources, was whether to develop this year’s car, or already next year’s. The more pressing the “budget cap”, the more crucial the question will be. I think the teams are also going to focus on building more modular vehicles, taking into account the possibility of evolving the single-seater in the way we design it, and not just seeing the car as a single element that we put in the trash at the end of the year. At Renault, we had such constraints that we used the same chassis for several years. Mercedes would have had nightmares! We identified it in 2020 because we had a more limited budget than the top teams, so I see Alpine well prepared for all these new data.
This is logical to increase the lifespan of what we design. If you save the few hundred thousand euros of developing a new chassis, and put that in aerodynamic development, for example, it can make a real difference. The impact of these last millions in the budget is considerable. This is also why the situation of Red Bull and its breach of the financial regulations in 2021 is causing a reaction. Five million euros for example, it’s just pharaminous. On 145 million euros of budget, it may not seem like much, but in F1 it can be the entire development budget over one season.
Max Verstappen is starting to be a perfect driver
Cyril Abiteboulat franceinfo: sport
Max Verstappen seems to have reached another milestone in mastery and maturity in 2022. Do you still see room for improvement?
I already saw little of it last year… At the end of the 2021 season, he had already impressed me when everyone said it was a championship for Lewis Hamilton. This season he has had less competition, but he has already shown in the past that he can be flawless under pressure. He still has to really go from challenger to defender of his property, because he had, whatever people say, always in his mind a doubt about the conditions of his title from last year.
He is in a zone of comfort and obvious excellence. He’s starting to be that perfect driver, who concentrates on the essentials, capable of being aggressive when necessary, taking his time, being crafty at the right time. He’s starting to remind me of a mighty Fernando Alonso, who has complete command of his surroundings at all times throughout the weekend. He is already one of the greats.