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2024 numbers don't lie: Red Bull biggest loser, McLaren biggest winner
- Sandy van Wijngaarden
Pierre Waché contradicted a relapse by Red Bull Racing. Indeed, according to the Austrian racing stable's technical director, nothing had changed about the car. Yet the team lost the most points of any team in 2024 compared to 2023.
In 2023, Red Bull Racing had a particularly dominant season. The Austrian racing stable won 21 out of 22 races and clinched the constructors' title as early as the Japanese Grand Prix. Max Verstappen won his third world title that year during the Sprint race in Qatar.
At the start of 2024, it seemed like their dominant form would continue throughout the year. Indeed, Verstappen won in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Japan and China. A rear brake issue brought about the Dutchman's early retirement from the Australian Grand Prix.
Red Bull Racing lost the most points in 2024
It was only from the Miami Grand Prix that the hierarchies at the top of the field changed. Indeed, McLaren suddenly had the fastest car. While critics spoke of a Red Bull Racing dip in form, according to Pierre Waché, this was not the case. In fact, the Frenchman stressed that the Austrian racing stable did not change anything about the car.
So this did not happen while Max Verstappen complained about balance problems from the start of the season. This feedback was not listened to then and the good results partly overshadowed the real problems.
Still, the RB20's problems proved to be really serious, as besides McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes proved to be faster in several races as well. The Austrian team was being caught up by the competition, who'd in turn been making changes to their respective cars.
If a comparison is made between the 2023 and 2024 constructors' standings, it is clear to see that Red Bull lost the most points compared to the previous year. In 2023, the Austrian racing stable gained a whopping 860 points. In 2024, it was 589 points. This is a shocking loss of a 271 points.
This is the biggest difference in points of any F1 team. The team that lost the most points after Red Bull is Aston Martin. The difference with this racing stable is 186 points. McLaren won the most points. The team gained 302 points in 2023 and 666 in 2024. This is a difference of 364 points. So while there has been no decline for Red Bull, they do seem, however, to have stood stiil.
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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