Verstappen Claims Record 19 Wins

Since the 2022 season, HRC has supported Red Bull Powertrains at the request of the Red Bull Group. 23 rounds, the most in F1 history, were scheduled for the 2023 season, in which HRC supported four cars from two teams, Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri.

Oracle Red Bull Racing was represented by defending champion Max Verstappen in pursuit of his third consecutive title, and Sergio Perez in his third year with the team. Scuderia AlphaTauri was represented by Yuki Tsunoda, a Japanese driver in his third year in the sport, and newcomer to the team Nyck de Vries.

- Advertisement -

See-sawing Between Teammates

In the opening round in Bahrain, Verstappen and Perez dominated the front row in qualifying. In the race, Verstappen pulled ahead for a comfortable win. Perez followed in second place, giving the team a one-two finish and convincing start to the season. Tsunoda was in contention for points, but unfortunately failed to score after finishing eleventh.

In the second round in Saudi Arabia, Perez started from pole and won, while in the third round in Australia, Verstappen won. In the fourth round in Azerbaijan, the first sprint race of the season was held, and Perez won both the sprint and the race. Verstappen was on 93 points and Perez 87.

Verstappen Dominates

From here, Verstappen’s winning streak began. In the following round, the Monaco GP (Round 6, the Emilia Romagna GP was cancelled due to heavy rain), Verstappen drove through the difficult rainy conditions for his second straight win. His winning streak continued up to the summer break, including the sprints in rounds 10 (Austria) and 13 (Belgium), a total of eight consecutive races.

Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Tsunoda and de Vries continued to have a difficult time scoring points. De Vries’ 12th place at the Monaco GP was his best result of the season, as he handed over his seat to Daniel Ricciardo from Round 12 in Hungary.

After a month-long summer break, Round 14, the Netherlands, kicked off proceedings. Ricciardo crashed in Friday’s free practice session, injuring his left hand. He was replaced at the last minute by reserve driver Liam Lawson who, in his F1 debut, overcame tough conditions with rain falling midway through the race, to move up from the back of the field to finish in 13th place.

Liam Lawson at Round 14, the Netherlands

At his home GP, Verstappen started on pole and won his ninth consecutive race in front of his home fans. He followed this up with another victory in the 15th round in Italy, achieving an unprecedented 10 consecutive wins.

Max Verstappen at Round 14, the Netherlands

Already Claiming the Double Title
Team Wins 21 Out of 22

In Round 16, Singapore, Lawson, in his third race, advanced to Q3 for the first time and finished ninth in the race. In contrast, Verstappen, who had won 10 consecutive races, finished fifth, ending the team’s winning streak that had continued since the start of the season.

In qualifying for Round 17, Japan, Verstappen took pole position by a dominating margin of 0.581 seconds. In the race, he scored his 13th win of the season, and Oracle Red Bull Racing had already clinched the constructors’ title. Tsunoda was able to advance to Q3, but was unable to score any points in the race, finishing 12th.

Oracle Red Bull Racing Winning Constructors’ Title at Round 17, Japan

In Round 18, Qatar, Verstappen, who was close to securing the drivers’ title, finished second in the sprint to claim his third title in a row. Verstappen also won the race after starting from pole. With his victory in the next round in the U.S,, Verstappen reached a total of 50 wins. In this event, Tsunoda finished eighth and drove his first fastest lap.

Verstappen dominated the remaining four rounds for seven consecutive wins, setting a new record of 19 wins in a season. With Perez’s two victories, Oracle Red Bull Racing had amassed an overwhelming 21 wins in 22 races.

Tsunoda and Ricciardo Shine in the Closing Rounds

Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Tsunoda finished 14th in the drivers’ standings with points from six races, including a sixth in the sprint in Round 21, Sao Paulo, and eighth in the final round in Abu Dhabi.

Although Ricciardo had missed five round due to injury, he demonstrated his speed in Round 20, Mexico City, qualifying fourth and finishing the race in seventh place.