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McLaren boss Zak Brown claimed the 2022 F1 season was not 'boring' despite Max Verstappen's utter dominance. The American felt all races were exciting despite Red Bull's clear advantage over the rest of the field in the second half of 2022.
Brown told the media:
“It certainly seems like the racing has been better. I think everyone was concerned that cars were going to look the same. They certainly don't. There's a lot of different concepts. I think the new regulations always need refining, but I think we got it pretty right. And the racing has been very exciting this year. Given the dominance of Max, it doesn't feel like it's been a boring season, even if the results on paper, you would think it would be boring. But I think all the races have been very exciting.”
2022 has been Max Verstappen's year as the flying Dutchman managed to defend his F1 world title dominantly. While Ferrari and Charles Leclerc looked to be the ones to beat in the early parts of the season, Red Bull won the development race and made better strategic calls to easily secure both titles this year.
Verstappen secured his second title in the sport with four races to go and broke Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel's record for the highest number of race wins in a single season. Despite the Red Bull driver's record-breaking performance in 2022, Zak Brown claims the season was not boring. He felt the 2022 regulations allowed for closer racing in the midfield, leading to exciting battles around the grid.
Max Verstappen already has his eyes on 2023 F1 title defense
Max Verstappen has already begun laying the foundations for his 2023 F1 title defense by testing next year's tires in Abu Dhabi. The two-time world champion took part in the Pirelli tire test last and put in 76 laps in the championship-winning RB18 car.
The Dutchman put in several laps on the updated Pirelli tires, trying to get a feel for next year's driving mechanics. It must be noted, however, that the Red Bull driver tested the tires on his 2022 car and will not have a clear idea of how next year's tires will behave. Max Verstappen said after the 2022 Pirelli tire test in Abu Dhabi:
"We have completed our programme and have thus laid a first foundation for next year. I think it all went very well. It's always nice to be able to do some laps on a new tyre construction, but of course the tyres behave differently on every track. That's why it's hard to judge. That said, it's always better to have some data than no data. All in all, everything went normally. A good day, then."
Verstappen's 2023 title defense seems to be in question not because of his skills, but rather due to Red Bull's reprimands for allegedly breaching the 2021 cost cap. The team will get significantly less wind tunnel testing time in 2023, potentially putting them on the back foot in the coming season. It will be interesting to see if Mercedes and Ferrari can upset the Austrian team in 2023.
