Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull Racing, has praised the new regulations for Formula 1, calling the 2022 season "amazing." The changes, led by Ross Brawn, aim to reduce the impact of "dirty air" by reconfiguring the cars' aerodynamics, allowing cars to follow each other more closely.
Red Bull Racing won both the Drivers' and Constructors' titles, along with 17 out of 22 race wins, which gives Horner good reason to call the season "amazing." Speaking to PlanetF1, Horner said:
"From a personal point of view, it’s been an amazing season for our team, and I think for Formula 1, I think the racing has been better."
Horner specifically noted the opening race in Bahrain, where Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc engaged in an exciting battle that was one of the season's highlights.
Horner noted that there were 25% more passes this year than in previous years, and he believes that the regulations are delivering on that goal. The Red Bull team principal said:
"I think that there’s been 25% more passes this year than previous years, I think the regulations are delivering in enabling the drivers to follow more closely. "
Despite the bumpy start, Red Bull manage to dominate the grid
Despite Red Bull Racing's dominant performance, it looked to be a close race between them and Ferrari at the start of the season, with the latter leading by 39 points after the race in Melbourne.
However, the next race at Imola marked a turning point as the Milton Keynes outfit secured their first one-two of the year, putting pressure back on Ferrari. From then on, Red Bull continued to efficiently develop their car, losing weight, and with Verstappen in sensational form, they never looked back.
Horner also noted the team's resilience following a double DNF in Bahrain at the start of the season. He credited the team for coming out with a competitive car and bouncing back, never losing sight of the target. Horner said:
"I think that as a team we got these regulations right, which considering we were the last team to transition onto them, after you know what happened last year [2021], I think our team has done an amazing job in coming out with such a competitive car and bouncing back after a double DNF in Bahrain. We never lost sight of what our target was."
Max Verstappen won 15 of the 22 races of the season, and Sergio Perez also managed to win two. Overall, the Milton Keynes outfit will look to continue with this momentum into next season.