Briatore happy with growth in F1: 'Even with this dominating champion'

How dominant Max Verstappen is in his Red Bull Racing RB19 has not often been seen before in Formula 1. Although there is no exciting battle for victory in 2023, F1 is more popular than ever and fans are still frenzied. Former F1 team boss Flavio Briatore applauds the current state of affairs.

F1 fans happy despite repeat winner

It can no longer escape anyone's notice how stunningly dominant Verstappen is in Formula 1. The Dutch two-time F1 champion tops the 2023 F1 championship, leading his teammate on P2, Sergio Perez, by 125 points. Verstappen single-handedly has more points than the P2 among constructors, Mercedes, has in total.

It could mean F1 fans are dropping out because the battle for P1 is missing, but to Briatore's delight, F1 is bigger than ever. The Italian wrote so in Italian newspaper Il Riformista after the Belgium GP. He began, "Verstappen showed that it is not just the car, but also the driver who makes the difference. He started further back, recovered and gave Perez 20 seconds. There were 380,000 enthusiastic fans sitting in the rain for two days."

'F1 fans are the real heroes'

"That is exactly the sign of how well F1 is doing," Briatore continued. "Despite there being an untouchable ruler in the races. The real heroes were the spectators; they were enjoying, even in the rain. They danced and partied. It was a show within a show."

Red Bull's rivals disappointed somewhat, according to the former Benetton and Renault team boss: "The McLarens were not there. Hamilton did compete again, for Ferrari it was a good P3. That shows growth." Briatore concludes, "Verstappen showed another great performance. At the moment he is unbeatable. We just have to accept that there is a great champion dominating the sport."