Red Bull believe their 2022 F1 car was 'fundamentally good' despite initial setbacks

Red Bull's chief engineer Paul Monaghan believes his team's 2022 F1 car was "fundamentally good" despite being arguably the second fastest car on the grid at the start of the year.

Multiple teams ended up "copying" the 2022 Constructors' title-winning car's design and philosophy over the course of the 2022 season.

At the beginning of the season, Ferrari seemed to be the ones to beat after taking a 1-2 finish in Bahrain's season opener. Max Verstappen and team, on the other hand, started their season off with a double-DNF, putting their 2022 title hopes in jeopardy.

However, the Scuderia soon fell prey to a string of reliability and strategic issues as the season developed, giving Red Bull a clear advantage in the process. Other teams, such as Aston Martin and Williams, soon developed their cars around the Austrian team's RB18, further proving that Christian Horner's team was on the right path.

Paul Monaghan said of the team's design in 2022:

"With the skill of the team in its research, its design, its realisation and its operation, we accomplished a very competitive year, and with the results that came our way and the ones we won outright, we prevailed this year. Was our concept different from everybody else's? Possibly. Was our concept fundamentally good? I think it was."

Red Bull expects Mercedes to be stronger than Ferrari in 2023

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes Mercedes will be a stronger opponent than Ferrari next season. In an interview with the German publication Bild, Marko was asked about his projections for next year - which rival would be the biggest challenge for the Austrian team. He promptly claimed that Mercedes would provide a more significant challenge, given that the team was rectifying issues throughout their failing season.

The Austrian and German teams were locked in an intense title battle in 2021, but the Silver Arrows struggled with the 2022 regulations and hence were unable to challenge for the top spot this year. However, Mercedes drivers pushed the cars to rank higher than expected throughout their lackluster season, which resulted in podium and pole finishes.

According to Helmut Marko:

"Ferrari is strong, but Mercedes will be stronger as a whole. Especially with a driver like Lewis Hamilton. He's still a top pilot. Although Ferrari also has a very good driver in Leclerc, he still makes mistakes."

Red Bull's battle with Mercedes and Ferrari will be exciting to watch next season. It will be especially interesting to see whether the Austrian team's design philosophy holds up next year once the rest of the grid has a better understanding of the new regulations.