For the second year in a row, Red Bull Racing scoop the Team of the Year award, after delivering another dominant season on the trot, winning all but one race.
After producing and developing the RB18 in 2022, Red Bull's RB19 was an even more dominant machine, especially in the hands of Max Verstappen.
And that is not an easy thing to do, as when you have a great car to start with, you will have to dig deep to get more performance, looking at the tiniest details as you bid to extract more performance, and that is exactly was Red Bull managed to do.
Another challenge Red Bull had to deal with was working under the burden of their 2021 Cost Cap breach penalty, dealing with less wind tunnel time while counting the sandwiches they are serving in their hospitality area so they would not exceed the cap again.
It remains to be seen whether Red Bull's RB20 will be compromised due to the cost cap penalty, but most probably they won't. Their advantage in 2023 was huge, which meant they stopped working on the RB19 back in August to focus on the 2024 car, and they kept their edge, something Lewis Hamilton pointed out with concern.
Away from the car, Red Bull kept their operating edge, the only 'blemish' being McLaren's 1.8s pitstop in Qatar, and their inability to better that which must have caused some sleepless nights for the Milton Keynes pit crews.
Red Bull set the benchmark that had all their F1 rivals chasing to no avail in 2023
Their strategies and race operations have otherwise been as good as ever, which is also not easy to maintain, as it takes a lot of effort to keep the team sharp, making sure no one is slacking off, which could happen easily when the team is having such a strong run.
We cannot but mention their Singapore Grand Prix performance, the only race they did not win, as the RB19 just refused to get going around the Marina Bay Circuit, but the manner in which they and Verstappen bounced back in Japan showed the team's resolve and control.
However the race in Singapore doesn't come close to the kind of implosions Mercedes suffered in their dominant days, remember Germany 2019?
Many were wondering if Red Bull could win every race in 2023, and they didn't, and to be honest that can't be taken against them as winning all races in one season just defies the laws of nature.
To top off an already monumental season, Red Bull managed to achieve their first ever one/two finish in the Drivers' Championship, with Sergio Perez finishing the season runner-up to Verstappen, and with that said, maybe the team should put some effort into maximizing the potential of the Mexican in 2024.
The 2023 F1 season was a historic campaign for Red Bull, one they will struggle to match, or will they?
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