Of course, it's the car… and a thousand other things, too.
We find ourselves in yet another era in which one team dominates the Formula 1 season, and it's unlikely to change anytime soon.
Mercedes brought a substantial upgrade to the Monaco Grand Prix, but the notoriously tight track wasn't the best place to showcase the change in pace. We had to wait until the Spanish Grand Prix, where Mercedes proved it was finally ready to rival Aston Martin and Ferrari, but not Red Bull. Yes, Mercedes secured second and third place, but Verstappen still managed to finish 24 seconds ahead of the nearest Mercedes. And Red Bull is due for an upgrade, which will likely make the impassable Verstappen even harder to overtake. Overtake Max; that's a laugh. He'll be so far up the road the other teams will be lucky if they can even see him.
Simply put, there will be no passing the Dutchie 'pon the left-hand side, or the right for that matter. RB19 will go down in history as one of the best F1 cars of all time, which leads me to an argument that boils my blood. When a person is dominant in F1, thousands constantly yell that it's the car.
Yes, it is the damn car. Allow me to explain.
The Pinnacle Of Motorsport
Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. It's often likened to IndyCar, but it's in a different league. IndyCar isn't just an American thing, while F1 is global. In F1 this year, there are 22 races on five continents, with only Africa and Antarctica missing out on the action.
The main difference is the way these cars are built. IndyCar is basically a spec racing series. Dallara supplies the chassis, and the teams can choose between Honda and Chevrolet twin-turbocharged V6 engines. An F1 car is a bespoke machine built within specific regulations. The engines are hybrid and made by a small group of approved suppliers. Smaller teams also buy their engines and a small list of standard parts from bigger teams. Aston Martin currently uses a Mercedes engine and will run a Honda power unit from 2026.
IndyCar also runs a standard aerodynamic package, while F1 teams spend millions to buy the best aerodynamicists.
With that in mind, the performance IndyCar racers are faster and can reach 240 mph. It takes an IndyCar roughly eight seconds to hit 200 mph; an F1 car can do it in half that time but has a lower top speed because greater focus is placed on aerodynamic downforce, which allows F1 cars to corner much, much quicker.
I'm not taking a dig at IndyCar, but trying to make a point. IndyCar better represents a driver's talent, with the cars being equal. But that's not what F1 is about. Calls for all the drivers to use the exact vehicle are ridiculous because it takes a massive dump on all the work behind the scenes.
F1 is the pinnacle because you need so many different things to come together perfectly at the right time to win. So, yes, it is about the car. Would Max Verstappen win in a Williams? Nope. Would Logan Sargeant win in a Red Bull? Also nope. See how that works?
To win, you need the best car and a driver to handle it.
Behind The Scenes
The two drivers and the team principal are the faces of an F1 team. But behind the scenes, there are thousands of people we, as the audience, never get to see. Their roles aren't any less important.
Many F1 fans (new and old) need to grasp this: F1 is a team sport. It always has been. It's not just one man and one car competing against 19 other drivers and their vehicles. We only fully grasped what goes into every race once we spent time behind the scenes with Mercedes.
Let's start at the beginning. While the current season is taking place, every team on the grid has another team at its headquarters toiling away on next year's car, simultaneously developing upgrades for the current campaign. Then we have the trackside team, who attend all the races. In addition to the drivers and their support crew, you have mechanics, pit crews, marketing, catering, and a team doctor who tends to everyone's ailments and works out a schedule to lessen the impact of jet lag. And the most important member is the dude who makes the coffee.
You also have Gianpiero Lambiase, who most of you will recognize as the voice in Verstappen's ear. Lambiase is equal parts F1 engineer and Verstappen's psychologist. He often talks the hot-headed Dutchman off a ledge and tries to keep him in line. Sometimes, he fails. It's a close relationship, and Lambiase is likely as irreplaceable as Adrian Newey.
Ah, yes. The famous Newey. Here's a man every team on the grid would love to have. He's received significant offers from other teams but chooses to stay with Red Bull. If you read his magnificent autobiography, How To Build A Car, you'll understand why. His unorthodox methods fit perfectly with Red Bull's refreshingly different take on F1 racing.
In his biography, Newey states that he loves a driver who can provide him with feedback. Newey may be responsible for building the fastest sled for the past year and a half, but it was only possible with Verstappen and Perez giving him feedback on how his car behaves.
Conclusion
Yes, it is about the car. That's how F1 is supposed to work, and that's what makes it so unique. Unfortunately, it's also what makes it so hard to become a top-tier team and why fans must endure years of dominance. It has always been this way, and people have short-term memories. Most toxic fanboys moaning about Red Bull now tend to forget about Mercedes' dominant years. And the Red Bull years before that. And Ferrari before that. And Williams before that. The trend continues all the way down to Team Lotus.
F1 is a team sport. It's not just Max Verstappen. Verstappen needs Adrian Newey to build a decent car and hundreds of people in the background to make that car work. This is true for all teams. The fact is that Red Bull is the best team out there, with the best car and driver.
Yes, it is the damn car and a thousand other things. What you see as a defense for why your favorite driver (building an entire personality around one F1 driver is equally dumb) didn't win shows absolute ignorance of how the sport works.
And before the Ferrari and Mercedes fanboys come after me with the Costcappen Saga, remember that it wasn't a big deal, considering the history of F1. The FIA found Red Bull did not cheat intentionally and proved this by showing Red Bull a tax deduction they should have included. If Red Bull had filed for said deduction, they would have been over by 0.37%. Still, rules are rules, and Red Bull was fined accordingly.
Some of Hamilton's more serious fanboys wanted Verstappen to lose all his points, once again proving how short their memories are. Hamilton and Alonso were at the center of the most severe corporate espionage controversy the sport has ever seen, and they didn't lose points. Alonso's teammate intentionally crashed his car, and he was allowed to keep his points.
Instead of making one of the dumbest arguments out there, why not enjoy the stunning display of engineering and driving prowess? Using the same tools, Red Bull built a Honda Civic Type R while the rest are playing with base-model Civics.
Keyword: Formula 1: Why The "It's Just The Car" Argument Is Stupid