Who can threaten Red Bull? 'Only if others take radical steps'

Formula 1 is characterised by dominance. There were times when McLaren dominated, then it was Williams again, we have of course had the hegemony of Ferrari, Mercedes wielding the sceptre for years and of course Red Bull Racing (between 2010 and 2013 and today) has also had its moments of superiority. Gerhard Berger talks about it.

How Berger explains this? "I find it incredibly interesting because such dominance always repeats itself. [...] But all come to an end at some point, and usually for the same reason. Someone who wins everything, like Red Bull now, will not make radical changes. You have a good base and you build on that. You benefit from that for a long time. But then the time comes when the team in second or third place takes that radical step because they need to make a big jump to get back in front. Then when they succeed in that, the tide turns."

Moreover - the 64-year-old Austrian tells Auto, Motor und Sport - long-term success does something to the people in the team and it is inevitable that at some point they become satiated and look for a new challenge. Or they are approached by a team and convinced with a bag of money or just a good story.

Red Bull's dominance

Red Bull Racing have by far the best papers to take the two world titles again in 2024, but Berger dares not rule anything out. "In Formula 1, things always go differently than you think. The bar is very high. If Red Bull keeps its team together like this, it will be difficult to overtake them. It can only work if the others take radical steps."

For that, the 10-time GP winner has the most confidence in Ferrari. "They were better in the second half of the season than the results showed. You should never underestimate Mercedes and Hamilton and McLaren is also doing very well," Berger concluded.