Flavio Briatore admits one F1 driver ‘ruined the world championship’ for him this year

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Former Formula 1 team principal Flavio Briatore has admitted that Red Bull driver Max Verstappen ruined the world championship this year.

Max Verstappen was simply unstoppable, with the Dutchman outscoring the second and third highest-scoring drivers combined.

Speaking to Autosprint, via Formule1.nl, the Italian was quick to praise the 26-year-old driver before admitting he made the year’s racing much less exciting.

Flavio Briatore is no stranger when it comes to dominating Formula 1 during his time with Renault.

His partnership with Fernando Alonso saw the Spaniard win back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006 before Alonso signed for McLaren the following year.

He also gave Michael Schumacher his debut in Benetton which proved to be a very wise decision.

However, Max Verstappen’s control over the championship this year was unprecedented and Briatore was not a fan.

While the 73-year-old could appreciate his talents, he didn’t think it was good for the sport that one driver could win so many races.

Unfortunately, he’s got little faith that anything will change next year either.

Briatore believes Verstappen ruined F1 championship in 2023

Speaking about the Dutchman, Briatore said: “The Red Bull team is extremely strong and Max Verstappen is doing nothing wrong.

“He is an extraordinary driver. Max Verstappen is really one with his car, especially when we consider that Sergio Pérez has the same car. You really see the difference with Verstappen, who does extraordinary things.

“Unfortunately, Max Verstappen ruined the world championship a bit. I hope there will be more excitement next year, otherwise, it won’t be fun anymore.

“But Red Bull has an advantage that I think is difficult to undo at the moment.”

Every other team except Red Bull will agree with Briatore that they would have preferred Verstappen didn’t dominate the championship in the way he did.

However, Christian Horner and his team gave the Dutchman a phenomenal car and even his teammate Sergio Perez couldn’t get anywhere near him.

So much so, that it’s been suggested that Verstappen has broken Perez with his displays in 2023.

Horner responded when asked tongue-in-cheek what his star driver could do better in 2024.

There were three races he didn’t manage to win last year and he’ll want to make sure he stands on the top step of the podium in Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Singapore as a result.