Christian Horner suggested Red Bull's rivals couldn't resist "sharpening their knives" over controversy in 2022 because they were annoyed that the team was dominating the championship.
Red Bull made headlines throughout the campaign, for reasons both good and bad. Their on-track success was admirable, especially as Max Verstappen toppled a swathe of records on the way to his second drivers' title, while the team finally ended Mercedes' long run of constructors' championship successes.
But there were also some not-so positive reasons why people were talking about Red Bull. The main one was the cost cap breach from the previous season, though Verstappen's refusal of orders to help team-mate Sergio Perez in Brazil also caused a stir.
Asked about whether Red Bull needs to build bridges to rebuild its relationship with F1 fans, Horner suggested their criticism stems from rivals speaking negatively about the team – and that it has been worse this year due to what his team has achieved.
"You're always learning [that] somebody else will have an issue at some point," he told reporters. "The higher you rise, the sharper the knives, and we've experienced a bit of that this year – the quickest way to become unpopular in this paddock is to win and win consistently.
"We are a subsidiary of an energy drink, racing against OEMs and historic brands – that does not sit comfortably with some of our competitors. Off track, we've firmly had a target on our back this year. At times, it has been tough this year but, unfortunately, that's Formula 1."
The 2022 season saw Red Bull win the constructors' championship by more than 200 points over their nearest rivals Ferrari. And Verstappen was so dominant in the drivers' standings that he could have skipped five of the race weekends he won and still taken the title.
But that does not guarantee success again next year, and their task will be made harder by having significantly less wind tunnel testing time compared to their rivals, owing to being top in the standings this year and their sporting penalty for that cost cap breach.
Horner also pointed out another reason why: "When you win 17 Grands Prix and do what we've done, you can understand that it hurts our opponents. I'm sure they'll be even more motivated to challenge next year, and [Ferrari and Mercedes] are both such high quality teams – nothing can be taken granted for 2023."
