Caryss Green, '25 - Editor
In the 2023 season, the Red Bull Racing team has been dominating the track. Max Verstappen, in particular, has won all but three races out of the first fifteen. He is leading the driver’s championship with 364 points. He has scored around 93% of the maximum points a driver can score so far in the season. His teammate, Sergio Perez, is behind him in second place with 219 points, and Fernando Alonso follows him in 3rd with 170 points.
In addition to leading the championship by 145 points, Max Verstappen has won 10 races in a row, breaking the record of 9 previously set by Sebastian Vettel in 2013. He has also helped his team to break the record of 11 for consecutive race wins by a team set in 1988 by McLaren. The current record set by Red Bull is 14, but, considering the team’s dominance thus far, it could increase.
Red Bull:
The Red Bull Racing Team was founded in 2005 by Dietrich Mateschitz. Christian Horner is the team principal and at his start, was the sport’s youngest team principal ever.
At the team’s debut race, both its drivers, David Coulthard and Christian Klien, scored points. The next year, the team scored its first podium at the Monaco Grand Prix with Coulthard. The team got its first race win with Sebastian Vettel and the RB5 (the car that year). Its first constructor’s championship title came in 2010, and it was followed by another three consecutive title wins in 2011, 2012, and 2013. The team won its fifth title in 2022 and is projected to win its sixth at the end of this 2023 season.
Max Verstappen:
Max Verstappen was born on September 30, 1997. He was born in Hasselt, Belgium. He started his Formula One career at 17 years and 166 days, making him the youngest-ever driver in the sport. He debuted his career in 2015 at the Australian Grand Prix. His first team was Toro Rosso, now called Alpha Tauri, and he moved to his current team, Red Bull, in 2016. His current contract with Red Bull lasts until 2028. In addition to being the youngest driver, he was also the youngest-ever race-winner. At 18 years and 228 days, Verstappen won his first race with Red Bull.
In 2021, Verstappen won his first title, with 15 race wins and only an 8-point gap to the previous year’s champion, Lewis Hamilton, who received second place in the driver's championship.
He won his second title in 2022. He ended the season with a 146-point lead from second place, Charles Leclerc.
This season, Verstappen is cruising to his third consecutive title win. He has won 12/15 races this season and is expected to continue winning as the season continues.
Sergio Perez:
Sergio Perez was born on January 1, 1990, in Guadalajara, Mexico. He has been a part of the Sauber, McLaren, Force India, Racing Point, and now, the Red Bull racing team. He debuted his Formula One career in 2011 with Sauber, and his performance there led to his move to McLaren in 2013. He switched to Force India at the end of the year. The team was later rebranded to Racing Point. Finally, in 2021, he joined Red Bull, his current team.
Perez has won two races this season, the only races not won by his teammate. His victories occurred in Baku at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
Including his race wins, Perez has had 8 podiums this season.
He is currently in second place in the driver’s championship. He has won 219 points this season which puts him 49 points ahead of Fernando Alonso who’s currently in third.