Max Verstappen’s 2023 campaign was one of the greatest performances ever in the history of Formula 1.
Jenson Button and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO).
Dutchman Max Verstappen put forth one of the most dominating performances in the history of Formula 1. The three-time world champion won 19 out of the 22 total races and shattered multiple records in the sport. Hence, due to this multiple fans labeled the season as ‘boring’, however, Jenson Button asserted otherwise.
Verstappen won the season with a point lead of an astonishing 290 points from his Mexican counterpart Sergio Perez. Hence, Button emphasized that championships won with such a huge margin go down in history as one of the greatest seasons. The 44-year-old recalled the Michael Schumacher years and Ayrton Senna‘s performance back in the day.
The championships that are won by such a big margin go down in history. The Michael Schumacher years, the dominance of the McLaren when Ayrton [Senna] and Alain [Prost] won the world championship – nobody could touch them. So it will go down in history.
However, Button wasn’t hesitant in accepting the fact that the numbers and results that Verstappen produced weren’t the most exciting at times. Regardless, there were some good racing actions in multiple races as pointed out by the Briton. Additionally, winning 19 races down the season wasn’t a walk in the park for the Dutchman either.
I have to say, if you look at the numbers and the results, yeah, it doesn’t look great. But I think we had some bloody good racing last year. Not all the races, but we have had some really good racing up and down the field. It wasn’t a walk in the park for Max either.
Achieving the same win rate as 2023 would be unrealistic according to Jenson Button
Max Verstappen in 2023 was so untouched in terms of performance that multiple people on the grid including the Dutchman asserted that producing such results would be nearly impossible. Button joined the train of thought and explained that it would not be realistic to achieve the same win rate as 2023 for Red Bull and Verstappen.
Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
Additionally, other teams were quickly learning Milton Keynes’ weaknesses and were closing in on the Bulls. McLaren had matched Red Bull in terms of performance during the latter half of the season and hence the 2024 season would produce even closer competition. However, Button highlighted his excitement for the testing session in Bahrain on 21st February.
The teams are continuously preparing for the upcoming challenges in the 2024 season. Multiple teams are yet to reveal their chassis and racing suits for the season. Verstappen is also looking to perform his best results alongside Red Bull as the team tackles multiple challenges on the way.
