Former F1 star Nico Rosberg has outlined what he expects to happen in the 2023 season. This current campaign saw Max Verstappe n stroll to his second world title, while Red Bull claimed their first constructors' crown since 2013.
Red Bull showed a level of dominance and superiority this year that they last showed during Sebastian Vettel ’s run of four straight championships from 2010-2013. Ferrari, who were expected to challenge Christian Horner and co throughout the season, have at times shown strong speed throughout the 2022 season but failed to live up to those expectations.
But a mixture of errors and reliability issues saw the Italian team - and its driver Charles Leclerc - fall out of contention. Mercedes have been a far cry from their performances over the last seven years, which included Rosberg’s lone championship win in 2016. Moving into next year, Rosberg expects more of the same from Red Bull.
"Red Bull are the dominant force at the moment in the way that Mercedes were in all these past years," he told Sky Sports F1's Any Driven Monday . "Securing that constructors' championship as well so early, also having such a dominant team in every area at the moment, just as Mercedes had.
"They have the car, they have the development rate during a season, reliability now, they have the driver who's the best or the equal best in F1 right now, they have the strategy - always nailing it all the time. It's just all coming together in an incredible way, the engine seems to be awesome too. It's definitely in a period now where it's going to be so difficult for any other team to come close again, even next year, the way it's going at the moment because they have such momentum."
It has been a very frustrating season for Mercedes, who have yet to claim a race win. The Silver Arrows came closest to taking the chequered flag on Sunday in Austin, with Lewis Hamilton pulling an undercut on Verstappen, who suffered a surprisingly long pit stop.
But such is the speed of the Red Bull, the Dutchman was able to catch the seven-time world champion seven laps from the end before going on to claim a record-equalling 13th win of 2022. Moving into 2023, Rosberg sees a long road ahead for his former team and the likes of Ferrari to consistently challenge Red Bull.
"It's going to be really tough for Ferrari, or even Mercedes to get closer," he continued. "For Mercedes, the Achilles heel is that straight-line pace, my goodness are they slow on a straight, especially compared to Red Bull. I really hope they manage to find the secret there to unlock some pace down the straights."
