Red Bull made history by becoming the first F1 team to win 12 consecutive races with Max Verstappen's victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix; Verstappen led every lap during Sunday's race; watch the Belgian GP from Spa-Francorchamps live on Sky Sports from July 28-30
Monday 24 July 2023 15:54, UK
Toto Wolff has described Red Bull's domination in Formula 1 as like having a "field of F2 cars against an F1" machine.
Red Bull took a record-breaking 12th consecutive win to surpass McLaren's 11 straight victories from 1988 as Max Verstappen led every lap on his way to glory at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The win puts Verstappen 110 points ahead of Sergio Perez in the drivers' championship and Red Bull are 229 points in front of Mercedes in the constructors' standings.
Lewis Hamilton's pole position on Saturday was just the second time Red Bull were beaten to the front of the grid this year, with the other occasion being Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
"That's where they are - it's like a field of Formula 2 cars against a Formula 1, and they've done the best job. As long as you're within the regulations, they've done the best job," Wolff told Sky Sports F1.
"That is what it is. It's a meritocracy. We are going to fight back and win races and championships, but today you've seen the pace that Max had, and we saw it in the long runs already in Friday."
Even during the peak dominance of Ferrari in the early 2000s and Mercedes between 2014 and 2016, neither team were able to surpass McLaren's 11 wins in a row.
Christian Horner lauded his team for the effort that has gone into making this year's car.
"As a young kid I remember watching the McLarens of Senna and Prost achieving that incredible feat. To think we have now bettered that. They were an incredible team and Ron Dennis was an incredible team principal," said Horner.
"It's something the whole team here in Budapest, in Milton Keynes and everyone behind the scenes has worked so, so hard for. It will mean so much."
Verstappen is on course to win a third consecutive title to join Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Hamilton as the only other drivers to win a hat-trick of championships.
The Dutchman half-joked he hopes to quickly move away from his 44 wins by adding another victory at the Belgian GP - live on Sky Sports from July 28-30.
"It was a pretty perfect day. It started with the actual start when we had a good launch for once and we looked after our tyres quite well," explained Verstappen.
"Every stint we eked out a bit of a gap and the car was really enjoyable to drive, so the balance I had yesterday worked really well today.
"It's really enjoyable to work with the whole team and have this kind of success. People forget how tough it is to win 12 in a row, even when you have the fastest car. It's easy to make mistakes or have an off weekend.
"We have had weekends where the gap was a bit smaller than we would have liked then a few weekends where we surprised ourselves and had a really good race. I hope we can keep that momentum going and keep on trying to learn from the car and upgrades from the car towards the end of the season.
"They are very rare days like this when they are that good. Spa was pretty similar last year but then I had to start from the back. Normally it's not that easy or straightforward."
Horner added: "Max is a driver totally at one with himself, at one with the car, total confidence and trust in the team. I think that what we're witnessing with him at the moment is a sportsman absolutely at the top of his game, and it's a joy to work with.
"He pushes himself - yesterday was disastrous as far he was concerned with the balance, but that just pushes him on. What we compromised yesterday, we benefitted today with a great, great race car."
Next up is the Belgian GP, the final race before F1's summer break - watch all sessions of the Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from July 28-30. Stream the Belgian GP and more with NOW.
