Red Bull’s dominant championship triumph “beyond our wildest dreams” Horner

Christian Horner said Red Bull have achieved success beyond their wildest expectations in the 2023 Formula 1 season, after his team clinched the title with six rounds to go.

Max Verstappen’s victory in yesterday’s Japanese Grand Prix was the team’s 15th win out of 16 rounds so far this year, and secured Red Bull’a second consecutive constructors’ championship.

“I don’t think we could have ever dreamt of having a year like this,” said team boss Horner.

“It’s unbelievable. Last year was a very strong year for us, but I think to have kept that momentum rolling with the challenges we’ve had is testimony to all the men and women in the team that have worked tirelessly to produce a car as competitive as we’ve had.

“Formula 1 is one of the biggest team sports in the world. I think it’s the result of all of those 22 different departments from all the support functions, all of the backroom staff that have worked crazy hours, the sacrifices that they’ve made to produce these kind of cars and this kind of result.

“Everybody is invested in one thing and that’s the car. To produce the kind of car that we have and achieve these kind of results has been an incredible performance.”

Verstappen is poised to clinch his third consecutive drivers’ title, all of which have come while Red Bull has been powered by engines originally developed by Honda, now branded as Honda RBPT following the Japanese manufacturer’s withdrawal at the end of 2021. Horner said he was especially pleased to have delivered the title at Honda’s home track.

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“It’s very fitting that we’ve won the constructors’ championship here on the 75th anniversary of Honda,” Horner added.

“To win it at Honda’s circuit, in Suzuka in Japan – they have been a phenomenal partner for us.

“They’ve produced a great engine and they’ve been an important element of our success with the performance and reliability that they’ve demonstrated. So it’s very fitting that we won the constructors championship here on Honda’s home ground.”

Verstappen has dominated the season, winning all bar three races, and single-handedly scoring more points than any of Red Bull’s rival teams. But Horner said both drivers deserve credit for the team’s success.

“It’s the combination of the two driver’s points that have obviously provided the amount of victories that we’ve had across the season,” said Horner.

“We’ve had 13 with Max, two with Checo. To achieve the sixth constructors’ championship is beyond our wildest dreams coming into the season.”

Red Bull’s sole defeat of the year occured in Singapore, where neither driver reached Q3 or stood on the podium. Horner said that race was “a big reminder to everybody that it’s very easy to miss the target.”

“We all left Singapore knowing that ultimately the winning run that we had would come to an end, but a little frustrated,” he added.

The extraordinary level of success Red Bull have enjoyed in 2023 will be hard to beat, said Horner.

“For the team to do better than we’re doing I think is impossible,” he said. “We’re riding a wave and of course we want to try and ride that wave as long as we can.

“But Formula 1 is a fast moving business. You see how quickly teams move up, move down and Singapore, if nothing else, demonstrates there can be zero complacency that we have to keep pushing the boundaries.”

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2023 Japanese Grand Prix

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