There was never any question about the name that should top this list, such was Max Verstappen’s domination of the season. Challenged by Pérez early on, it was in Azerbaijan he suffered a defeat that changed his approach and even a mishap in qualifying in Miami just served for the Dutch to show, on race day, he was now in full control of the situation. By the start of the European season Verstappen was in a world of his own, had enough car margin to play it safe in qualifying and still be on pole, knowing the superior tyre management of the RB19 allowed him to pulll away from his rivals on race day, which he often did.
Towards the end of the season the Dutch had to work harder for his wins but still continued his domination, securing a new record of 19 wins out of 22 Grand Prix, while beating most of all other one-seaon record along the way.
Guenther Steiner, who was team principal of the Haas F1 team for its first eight seasons before owner Gene Haas opted not to extend his contract for 2024, says he wishes he had the opportunity to thank all his former colleagues before leaving the team.
Speaking at the Autosport International show, Steiner admitted that it was unfortunate he was not able to speak with the whole team before departing.
“Yeah, it stung, but they all know me and they all know that I appreciate what they did,” he said. “It’s always best to say it to them, it would be nice to say, ‘hey guys, thanks for what you did for the team.’
“I would just like to thank all the team members, which I couldn’t give a proper goodbye to when I left, so I’ll do it this way. And I want to say also thank you to all the fans who supported us while I was there.”
