Red Bull claims that their RB20 solutions, a la Mercedes, are not intended as bait.
Red Bull claims that its decision to build its new RB20 Formula 1 car using Mercedes-style solutions was made solely to pursue more performance, not to rile up its rival.
When the Milton Keynes-based team unveiled its 2024 Formula One challenger on Thursday night, it brought up a few ideas that Mercedes had considered in the past but dropped. This raised some concerns.
This contains an extreme form of sidepods that is not entirely detached from the zero-pod idea that its German manufacturer opponent competed before abandoning, as well as full-length engine gulleys that are evocative of the 2023 Mercedes.
Red Bull’s new approach of pursuing what its competitors have given up on is a curious move for the world champion team ahead of a season where competitors have converged much more on the company’s prior designs.
However, team manager Christian Horner claims that the motivation behind the action was to find lap time-delivering solutions rather than to bait the opposition.
“It’s not tactical, it’s based on performance and what we’re seeing through our simulation tools,” Horner stated.
“It’s obvious that the automobile looks much different from last year in several areas. We wouldn’t have committed to this concept in a virtual world if we didn’t think it was superior, but only time will tell.”
World champion Max Verstappen disagreed, saying, “I would still call it a Red Bull style,” in reference to Red Bull’s approach to the automobile. I understand what you mean, though.
However, he did commend the team’s technical chiefs for their proactive efforts in making adjustments from the winning RB19 from the previous season.
“I’m quite happy with the direction that they chose,” he stated. “I was like, ‘Wow, that’s very different in a way,’ when I saw the drawings from the last race, which was, I believe, in Abu Dhabi. They haven’t been, to put it nicely, conservative.
“I think the team’s strength is that, although we had a fantastic package, they seized the opportunity to really go above and beyond and attempt to improve it.
“Time will tell if it’s truly that good, of course. However, based on my observations of the squad, everyone is content with their wintertime accomplishments. On the other hand, we are unsure. We are powerless over the actions of others.”
Although the car did have certain evolutionary features from its 2023 challenge, Horner said that many significant changes had been made.
“I think there’s great innovation on the car as well that no doubt will be scrutinised over the coming couple of weeks,” he stated. “I believe the team has a strong creative element.
“Some of the solutions they’ve developed demonstrate that. It is therefore not a conservative evolution. Some excellent ingenuity is present.
