The 2022 Formula One season was largely criticised by fans due to the one-man show which a rampant Max Verstappen put on in order to retain his world title with a points haul of 454.
Verstappen's closest contender, Charles Leclerc, sat 146 points adrift which is a frightening gap. The Ferrari driver despite being painted as a title rival, only scraped second, as Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez was only three points adrift of the Monaco native.
In the constructor's championship, Red Bull ran away with it, finishing on 759 points, 205 ahead of Ferrari in second place. There were only five races all season that Red Bull didn't win.
However, coming into the 2023 season, many believed that there would be a more competitive championship. This expectation however was short lived, as Red Bull have received a one-two finish in both races this season so far.
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Aston Martin and Mercedes draw level in the team standings after our points re-shuffle 👀#SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/BoAmBrH4aX
In Bahrain, Verstappen stormed ahead to win the Grand Prix by nearly 12 seconds, with 'Checo' Perez an additional 38 seconds ahead of third placed Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin. Verstappen faced no resistance, starting pole, he had pulled away by a couple of seconds within two laps.
Race week two in Saudi Arabia gave race fans hope for a different outcome when Verstappen dropped out of qualifying due to an issue in Q2 and started 15th. Checo meanwhile qualified P1 and it remained that way for the race's duration.
Verstappen of course rose through the field relatively quickly and unproblematically to finish P2, and how he did this, sparked comments from his peers and left fans speechless at the continued Red Bull domination.
What has the rest of the field made of Red Bull?
Red Bull's closest competitor this season has been the Silverstone team Aston Martin, who are second in the standings.
Despite being second though lead driver Alonso sees the Red Bull's as too quick to compete with, describing them as "untouchable".
He also admitted that Aston will need 'help' from a Red Bull breakdown or slow pitstop to beat the runaway leaders.
“We need some help from them, but it will happen eventually when they cannot finish always first and second.”
Alonso continues that Red Bull's reliability issues could open the door for a potential race victory.
“One day it's a pitstop, one day it's a gearbox,
“Max had it [in qualifying] and if he had it [in the race] he would have had to retire the car.
“So, there's going to be some circuits where maybe reliability or whatever could help us and hopefully in those races, we take the opportunity.”
Another racer who has been outspoken on the Red Bull dominance is the seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton was bemused by the gulf in class and performance between one-time title rivals Red Bull and Mercedes, following the Saudi Grand Prix.
Hamilton even went as far as to say that this Red Bull car is the quickest he has ever seen.
"I have definitely never seen a car so fast,
"When we were fast, we were not that fast. It is the fastest car I have seen, especially compared to the rest.
"I don't know how, but he came past me with some serious speed and I didn't even bother to block him because there was a massive speed difference."
This is a question answered by Sky Sports reporter, Ted Kravitz who believes following last weekend's race, many of the other teams in the paddock will be analysing the Red Bull Drag Reduction System (DRS) flap.
Kravitz said, "Are they doing something with that rear wing that not only stalls out the rear wing of course but also stalls out the floor or other aerodynamics around the car?
"So that'll be, I'm sure, the latest round of technical intrigue in Formula One when we get to the next race in Australia."
The only potential thing which could be an issue within the Red Bull camp is the presumed diminishing relationship between Verstappen and Perez.
Following the race last Sunday, Verstappen was audibly disappointed at the driveshaft issue in qualifying which ruined his chances at pole.
This was followed by Max's dad Jos appearing to blank his son's Mexican teammate. Adding to this, Perez complained post-race about Verstappen taking the fastest lap from him on the last lap.
Sky Sports F1 lead commentator David Croft has suggested this friction, along with Perez's contractual situation, could potentially lead to a 'banana skin' for the reigning constructor's champions.
"Perez is in the last year of his contract and if there are no signs of another deal coming, what's in it for Sergio to help his team-mate in the way Red Bull would like? I think there are a few banana skins down the road."