Despite Red Bull’s dominance in the 2023 Formula 1 season, technical director Pierre Wache believes the team fell short due to Sergio Perez’s struggles. While Max Verstappen secured the drivers’ title, with Perez finishing second, Wache expresses dissatisfaction, stating that the team “failed” because only Verstappen consistently maximized the performance of the RB19.
Perez faced challenges in extracting the full potential from the car, resulting in inconsistent results that left him 290 points behind Verstappen by the season’s end. Wache attributes Verstappen’s success to his ability to handle the car well under various conditions, highlighting that Red Bull might not have fully understood what Perez needed to unlock the RB19’s potential.
Wache’s frustration suggests that addressing this issue will be a focal point for him and his design team as they work on the 2024 car. The performance gap between Red Bull and their rivals needs to be narrower to ensure success in defending their title, and both drivers must be performing at their best.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff also acknowledged Verstappen’s exceptional consistency, expressing difficulty in understanding why drivers from various teams displayed performance oscillations throughout the season. Wolff attributes the fluctuations to the tire grip, emphasizing the importance of finding the right setup and stable platform from the beginning of the weekend. According to Wolff, Verstappen was the only driver in 2023 who fully understood how to drive on the specific tires used in the championship.
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