Monaghan says ’22 was more satisfying than being Red Bull’s best previously

Paul Monaghan talks about 2022 dominance of Red Bull against the previous times when they won F1 title and operational teamwork.

Red Bull dominated the 2022 after a titanic struggle and fight with Mercedes in 2021. The year of course went down to the wire and the story of the ‘Duel in the Desert’ has been well documented over 12 months on.

But after a slow start to 2022, Red Bull really did up the ante and came into their own with seventeen wins, eight poles and eight fastest laps. Chief Engineer Monaghan has been with the team from the very beginning and if anyone is in a position to compare and contrast to the halcyon period of 2010 to 2013, he most certainly can.

“Perhaps most dominant? We could argue for that, given the success we’ve enjoyed – but with more races this year,” said Monaghan. “2009, when we were starting to be challenging, and 2010, obviously with our first titles. I’ll say it’s different. Because there’s a confidence in the team”.

“2010 was a step into the unknown for us to some extent – at least that’s how I viewed it. We’re exceptionally lucky, we’ve had a good fight with Ferrari and some tussles with Mercedes this year. And we’ve managed to surpass those. So, is it the best year? I wouldn’t say it’s the best. I’ll say it’s one of our most satisfying years”.

“And we’re very privileged to have a car and the team that we have, whether it’s trackside, factory-based, doesn’t matter. Everybody’s pulling in one direction. And the results speak for themselves,” summed up Monaghan. But as per the top, it was a sluggish beginning with Ferrari dominating the early exchanges in the opening rounds and Red Bull suffered mechanical maladies.

Red Bull were behind and chasing the Maranello concern so if anything they have come from behind and triumphed massively in the end. But it is not just on-track as a myriad of team work behind the scenes is going on too. Monaghan himself once more is very cool and calm in his demeanour when answering.

“I’m not sure I’ve put it down to purely operation,” said Monaghan. “The team is more than what appears… or the collection that appears at the circuit on a regular basis. So, in terms of a factory effort to not only operate the car to its best levels, but also maintain the development rates against our opposition, has been a phenomenal effort”.

“Again, I wouldn’t want to say it’s the best or worse, or anything like that. It’s been enormously satisfying,” summed up Monaghan. No matter what, it was a very dominant effort from the Milton Keynes outfit. Coupled with Ferrari’s re emergence last season and the very strong finish from Mercedes, it could be a whole lot closer in 2023.

Here’s how the F1 2022 teams were categorised in ranking: https://formularapida.net/f1-2022-teams-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/

Here’s how the F1 2022 drivers were categorised in ranking: https://formularapida.net/f1-2022-drivers-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/

Here’s drivers’ list of Top 10 drivers

Here’s the team bosses list of Top 10 drivers

Here’s Christian Horner on Red Bull becoming unpopular

Here’s Adrian Newey on impact of less windtunnel time

Here’s Christian Horner picking Max Verstappen’s best of 2022

Here’s Max Verstappen on being pushed despite dominance

Here’s Christian Horner on hiring Adrian Newey

Here’s Red Bull trio and Sebastian Vettel on multiple topics